Cornelius Fudge

Fred and George had never been so eager to be in a Quidditch match. Sure, they were disappointed Ella would miss it, but they also didn't have to notice she was gone. They could focus fully on the match and leave the crowd in a blur. Lee was the only one of their friends who would probably have a difficult time with the match. Ella wouldn't be with him to point out what he was missing when he got consumed in one aspect. All the teammates were worried their commentary would suffer from this, but Lee assured them he could be his "professional" self, regardless. They were nearly ready to begin when McGonagall hurried on the pitch with an enormous purple megaphone.

"This match has been cancelled!" McGonagall yelled through the megaphone to the crowd. Boos and Hisses were echoing from every corner of the stadium. Fred and George looked at each other in shock.

Oliver rushed over to McGonagall, "But Professor! We've got to play –the cup –Gryffindor!"

She ignored him, "All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!" Everyone began to move out of the stadium and back to the school. The Quidditch team went to go put their brooms away when Angelina noticed Harry had been beckoned over by McGonagall, and then when Ron came over the three set off. She had a very bad feeling in her stomach that she knew what had happened.

After everyone arrived in the common room, they all waited for McGonagall to come back and make her announcement. Percy was looking very grim and it didn't escape their notice that Hermione was nowhere in sight. After several minutes, McGonagall appeared in the common room with Harry and Ron who were both looking pale and slightly sick. Fred, George, and Lee immediately knew what had happened.

"There has been another attack, another double attack. Before the Quidditch match, we found Miss. Hermione Granger and Miss. Penelope Clearwater petrified. New rules are now being implemented for the safety and protection of all students."

She unrolled a piece of parchment and began to read, "All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities." McGonagall rolled up the paper then added in a somewhat choked voice, "I hardly need to add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."

No sooner had she left before Lee shouted, "That's three Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff! Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin –why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" His roar was met with a chorus of approval.

Percy didn't even attempt to calm the common room down. He sat pale and in shock over the whole ordeal. Not only had Ella disappeared, he'd deciphered the "illness" soon enough, Penelope was now gone too, and she wasn't even Muggle-born. She was a half-blood who was probably trying to protect Hermione at the time –bless her. Percy could only wonder how the petrified students felt in their state, but he didn't really want to know. How was he to know?

Ella woke up in a room filled with blinding light. For a moment, she was in complete disarray. Was she dead? This area looked like some place she'd go if she were dead and she wasn't tired, hurt, or hungry. Ella wasn't even in her robes; she was now in a flowing white shirt and blue jeans –definitely not Hogwarts apparel.

"You are not dead, young one. You are just petrified; it will all come back to you in a moment or two," a man's voice told her. Sure enough, she remembered running from Ginny and seeing the great yellow eyes of the serpent. That meant she was right about what the creature was. Ella would have to rub that in Percy's face –if she ever saw him again.

"You will see him again. It is only a matter of time before you are revived," the man said once more. Ella finally gathered the courage to see who was talking to her. She had been terrified that the man would be an older version of the boy controlling Ginny. Ella was happy to see he was no such thing.

The guy in front of her was about a foot taller, and had to be no younger than seventeen and no older than twenty –it was difficult to tell. He had dark hair and eyes that matched. His voice definitely had a Scottish or Irish lilt to it, which Ella found slightly charming even though his manner of speaking was a bit archaic.

She mustered some strength and pulled herself to her feet asking, "Who are you, and why do you know so much about my current state?"

He laughed, "Well, we are in your inner-person so that could contribute to my knowledge over your physical state, and as for who I am, you can call me Aiden."

Ella looked at him curiously, "Why do I have a man in my inner-person named Aiden?"

"Because he was the best equipped to help you out during your time of being petrified. I am not at liberty to give you any details over myself, but I am here to help you reach a deeper understanding of yourself. I am going to help you reach the fire within," Aiden explained to her.

Her feelings were skeptical, but she decided to go with it, "Alright, so what am I supposed to do in my petrified state? You said I'm in my inner-person, isn't that where I go for my Animagus dreams?"

Aiden thought for a moment then replied, "You do, but this time you have gone as deep as possible into your mind. You have more control than you do in your dreams."

"More control?"

He nodded, "Yes. Come along –take a nice walk with me." As he said it, a grassy pathway appeared. Ella looked at him suspiciously, but figured there was no way this could be a trap since she was in her own mind.

As they walked through the deepest parts of her mind, Ella wondered what she could possibly find here. There were so many things she didn't understand about herself and the world around her that a chance like this would probably be once in a life time. Aiden glided a few paces in front of her while his jet black robes billowed behind him. Why was he in robes while she wore jeans? She had so many questions and, as always, so few answers.

"So, if I have more control than I do in my dreams, does that mean I can see the future from here still?" Ella asked the man who seemed to know everything.

"The abilities you have are deeply intertwined with your soul." He told her cryptically.

She looked at him puzzled, "That means?"

"Give it a try."

Ella thought hard for a moment before remembering the four creatures that were inside the Shrieking Shack the first time she went to Hogsmeade. She imagined the werewolf, dog, stag, and Scabbers all were in front of her, and to her amazement they appeared. The four creatures stood in a row –stag, dog, wolf, and then the rat. She decided to address the stag first.

"Who are you?"

The creature morphed into a man that bore a striking resemblance to Harry in every way but the eyes. He flashed her a roughish grin and messed up his hair a little more. Ella felt like laughing, but she didn't want to appear childish.

He grinned stating, "The names Potter, James Potter. My best friends are these mates right here, and I'm married to my long time crush, Lily. We have a son but –"

"You were murdered by Lord Voldemort," Ella finished for him. "Is there anything else important about you?"

"My nickname is Prongs," James shrugged.

Ella's eyes narrowed in focus, "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

James's smile grew, "Because we're the creators of the Marauder's Map your friends have." She nodded and watched James form back into the stag.

"Alright," she said with a look towards the dog. "Your turn."

The man that was now taking the place of the dog could've been handsome at one time, but he wasn't now. The former dog looked bone-thin and gaunt. His skin was stretched tightly over his bones; he seemed like he should've been dead by now. He wore a prisoner-like uniform that hung on him like it was much too big.

"My name is Sirius Black, and I've been trapped in the wizard prison, Azkaban, for nearly twelve years. I'm Harry Potter's godfather. I was best friends with all of these people at one time, but then that rat went and gave away Lily and James's hiding spot, but it was all blamed on me. Now I'm just waiting to break out and do the job I was put in prison for," Sirius explained while glaring at Scabbers.

Ella nodded slowly, "So you're not dangerous to anyone but that rat?"

Sirius never took his eyes off Scabbers, "Of course I'm not. That rat took my best friend away from me and all I want is for him to pay." The man stayed human but went still as the werewolf became human. He looked young, but a premature grey had swept through his hair.

"Hello, I'm next I suppose. I'm Professor Remus Lupin. I'll be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts in the near future," he told her politely. Ella half expected to be frightened, but she wasn't.

"Are you any good?"

He chuckled good naturedly, "You and your friends will think I'm the best you've ever had."

"Good, I suppose that leaves Scabbers," and as she said it. The rat transformed into a small, grubby man who Ella felt she needed to take a step back from. He had watery eyes that darted around the area. His voice squeaked at her.

"Kind girl! Sweet girl! You've always had a soft spot for me. We discussed your dreams together and you wouldn't let them hurt me, would you?"

She looked at him affronted by how pathetic he was, "We'll see when I've found out what you've done. According to them, you're the reason Harry's parents are dead, and to me that doesn't sound forgivable."

"I don't disagree with that, but I was going to be killed if I didn't give Lily and James away–"

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK THEIR NAMES!" Sirius roared and Professor Lupin held him back.

Ella held up her hand to silence him, "I'm in control here and I'd like the story. Obviously you gave up their whereabouts, Sirius was blamed, and he was imprisoned. Now I'd like to know why you're living as a rat and what any of this has to do with the future."

Remus stepped forward, "I think I can help clear that up. You see, Sirius was supposed to be the Potters Secret-Keeper, meaning that he'd be the one to know where they were located for a special protective spell. At the last minute, Sirius gave that power over to Peter or Scabbers, as you've been calling him, so that Sirius would be the target and both the Potters and Peter would be safe. What he didn't expect was that Peter was already working with Voldemort and decided to just turn the Potters over so it'd look like Black betrayed him."

Sirius picked up the story from there, "I went after him, completely blinded by hatred at his betrayal. Had I waited, I would've been more rational, but the wound was too new, too deep for rational thinking. I tracked that rat and then he yelled out in fear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, he blew up an entire street, killing several Muggles. They thought he died in the explosion –all they found was a finger. I was imprisoned while he was praised for his heroic actions."

"But he wasn't a hero and he certainly isn't dead, he's hiding in fear as a rat at the Weasleys. He's lived there for as long as you've been imprisoned. He's terrified because he's a rat and other Death Eaters would want him dead. He lives on after killing those people, selling out Lily and James, and getting you locked up. How is he a rat though?" Ella asked watching the pieces of an elaborate puzzle fall into place.

"They became illegal Animagi for me," Remus stated. "James, Sirius, and Peter knew that in my werewolf form I couldn't hurt them if they were animals. In fact, we discovered that werewolves can think more like a human if they are with an Animagus. They worked from their first year until their fifth year to accomplish what you've nearly done already. A werewolf can't turn an animal unlike humans."

Ella nodded, "And animals aren't as affected by dementors. So that's how Sirius will escape from Azkaban…am I right?"

"You are correct," Aiden replied and Ella jumped. She had forgotten that he was watching her interrogation.

"I still want to know how soon this will happen and what my part will be," Ella stated to the men. Pettigrew had disappeared in a puff of smoke. She was absolutely disgusted by the man and couldn't bear to be in his presence. James had also disappeared, but Ella figured it was because she had no more questions for him.

Sirius grinned for the first time, "Everything will happen beginning in the summer. I'll escape from Azkaban and make my way towards where Harry lives. I'll follow everyone to Hogwarts despite the dementor guards that will be positioned all over the grounds. Remus will be there and he'll believe I'm as evil as that rat wanted people to believe. I'm there to try and finish my job."

Aiden stood beside Ella and warned her, "He will need help or he will never survive. He has been deprived of food and water making him very weak."

"And this is where I come in? Why me?"

"Because, this ability of yours has given you insight into the past and future. You know I mean no harm to anyone. You know what actually happened to Pettigrew. You're the only one qualified to do this." Sirius looked at her pleadingly. She saw him in three different visions. One was the sickly version in front of her, but the other two he was happier. The first was in his youth, when he looked young and whole. He was embracing James Potter like a brother, like she had seen Fred and George do before. The last version of him was embracing Harry as though he was the last link Sirius had to James. Ella couldn't deny this man a chance to live –to rekindle that happiness that was vacant in his features now.

Ella put her head in her hands, "What do I do?" As she said it, the grassy fields began to melt away from her. When she looked up next, Ella found herself standing on her street in the middle of the night. She was near an alleyway a few doors down, but she could see another version of herself moving towards a dog that was barely hidden by the shadows in the alley. As she got closer, it growled and crouched in a defensive position. Ella still moved slowly towards it with her hands up in surrender.

She heard herself say, "It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you. You need help, and I'm here to help you Padfoot. I know you're not to blame and you need to trust me like I'm trusting you right now or you'll never achieve what you're setting out to do." The dog relaxed slightly and moved towards her.

The scene disappeared and Ella found herself back in the grassy pathway with Aiden. He looked at her and she held up a hand. She needed a minute to regroup and iron out what she had seen. Never had Ella's abilities been so cooperative. She could get used to this ability, but knew that it wouldn't happen outside of this state.

"What do you think?" Aiden asked calmly.

"It's beyond odd, but it's easier to learn things this way," said Ella. She was going to be really disappointed when she went back to her frustrating, awake-state.

Aiden gave her a sad smile, "I think you may need a bit of a rest from what you have learned today."

"Do I sleep when I'm petrified?" Ella asked him unable to stop herself.

He laughed, "No, your body is already in the deepest form of rest it can receive. When you are petrified you do not need sleep. I just figure you may need time to digest everything you have heard. If you do not, I am afraid you will explode when you learn anything more."

Ella looked at him in disbelief, "There's more than this?"

"Of course," Aiden replied calmly to her outburst. "You have much to learn and a comparatively little time to learn it. I hope you can adjust quickly because time is of the essence. You have always been frightened and irritated by your lack of answers and capabilities. Now is the time to achieve nearly all you have ever wanted to know. The more time we waste, the less you will learn." He glanced at Ella knowingly as she took a deep breath.

"I'm ready."

A/N: You all are the absolute best! I actually got a little choked up reading some of the reviews you had. Thank you so much, it means a lot to know you enjoy this story so much. I hope you enjoyed that chapter, especially since Ella got to make a return! Don't forget to review and tell me your thought/hopes/likes! :)