Into Hiding

April 1998
Ellie

Ellie sat at her desk, staring down at her book and clenching her hands under her desk, focusing on her breathing as Alecto railed into Meredith. She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, hearing everyone's voices in her head telling her not to say anything. Though she should have expected it.

Every time Ellie entered her class, she had the same gleam in her eyes. A gleam that said she was clearly working to break her down. And that she knew it was working as Ellie slowly began to lose her patience.

"Detention. Two weeks," Alecto said lightly, walking away from a stricken Meredith. Ellie looked over at her. While strong, she knew that Meredith wouldn't last very long with Alecto – not with what she had been doing lately. She had been in with her once and was so traumatized that she wouldn't speak about it for a few weeks. The professor had only gotten crueler in the time that had passed. Already the poor girl had lost all the color in her face and was struggling to breathe. Ellie reached over and squeezed her hand under the desk. Meredith tried to smile in return but only managed a grimace. It was then that Ellie knew what she needed to do.

"I'll take it for her," she said, her voice clear. The room was so silent that you could have heard a quill drop. Alecto slowly turned, raising an eyebrow in Ellie's direction.

"You are well aware that you cannot do another student's detention, aren't you, Ms. Black," Alecto said evenly.

"We all know it's me you want," Ellie replied, maintaining eye contact with the professor. She wasn't sure just where this surge of strength was coming from, but there was no taking it back now. Alecto tilted her head to the side, as though she were considering it. Finally, she smiled coolly.

"Very well. My office… tonight," she said before returning to the lesson. Meredith turned to Ellie, eyes wide, though she didn't say anything, knowing she would be right back in detention. When class was dismissed, the two hurriedly grabbed their things and walked out.

"Why did you do that?" Meredith asked. "I could have done it!"

"It's fine," Ellie said, maintaining her brave front. She didn't want to give the Slytherins anymore fodder.

"But we all know what she'll do to you," Moira said, coming up on her other side. "She's been after you all year."

"Yes, and I'm getting rather tired of it," Ellie said acidly. "She's spent too long hurting others because of me."

"But… what if-"

"I'll be fine," Ellie said, cutting off Meredith. "It's about damn time I stood up for myself and quit letting others take my punishment."

She then picked up her speed, heading to Gryffindor Tower and her room. She and Seamus still weren't speaking and she knew he was in the room of requirement. They were both stubborn, but she was determined to ignore him until he finally saw that she was in the right. Even Neville had begrudgingly agreed that they should probably help Nott, though so far no one seemed to have any ideas on how. Seamus would make himself scarce whenever these conversations came up.

But now was not the time to worry about that. In just a few hours, Ellie had detention with Alecto Carrow. And she would need to steel herself for that. And for the reaming she was likely to get from the others as soon as they found out.

In fact, she was fairly sure that word would have gotten around before she got back to the Tower. If it weren't for the chance of running into any Slytherins, she would have gone to the library to work on homework until she had to be at detention. The only place she thought she might get some respite was her dorm, though she was sure Moira and Meredith would follow. But it wasn't as though she had any other options.

So, she strode through the common room, not bothering to stop or look around, and went straight up to her dorm. Thankfully both Moira and Meredith were quiet, dropping off their things before turning around and leaving her. Sighing, Ellie did a few charms to make sure that she would be left alone, then fell on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, trying her hardest to keep the panic at bay.

She had put up a strong front, knowing that it would only make it worse if the others knew just how frightened she actually was. In the privacy of her room, she started shaking. She no longer had the protection of the Notts and wasn't sure if Snape would even bother to step in on her behalf at this point. Even the other professors were starting to appear more and more concerned and desperate. McGonagall had a bit of a haunted look about her and was extra kind to any students in class that exhibited injuries. She saw Sprout working in the hospital wing with Pomfrey, likely doing double duty to keep the wing stocked with various healing potions. The Ravenclaws had reported that Flitwick was teaching defensive magic in their common room after hours on the sly, worried what the Carrows might do if they caught him. All the professors were restless, wanting to do more to stop the Carrows and help the students, but yet their hands were tied. If they spoke out openly, it was only a matter of time before they would get sacked. And no one wanted to think too long on who they would be replaced with.

Sighing, Ellie sat up and stared around the room. It was likely only a matter of time before someone came to bother her or talk her out of what she was about to do. Grabbing her bag and wand, she started out of her room and ran down the stairs. She wasn't completely sure where she would go, but she wanted to be alone and she was sure that she wouldn't find that in Gryffindor Tower.

Ellie kept her back straight and her chin up as she marched to Alecto Carrow's office after supper. She hadn't gone to the Great Hall, not wishing to be lectured or have to keep up her brave act for longer than necessary. She was going to need all her strength just to get through the next hour.

For whatever reason, no one had bothered her. She had timed it that way intentionally. But the closer her feet took her to Alecto's door, the clammier her hands felt and the harder it was to breathe. At this rate, she'd be an absolute mess before she even knocked on the door.

"Buck up, Black," she muttered to herself as she stopped and stared at the door a few moments. "You will survive this."

Then with a deep breath, she held her hand up and knocked.

"Enter."

She pushed the door open and stepped into the room, seeing Alecto standing next to her desk. There was no chair there, which worried Ellie. Just what was she planning to do to her?

"Don't just stand there," Alecto snapped, pointing to the space in front of her desk. Gulping down the lump in her throat, Ellie maintained what she hoped was a scowl as she walked up and stood where Alecto had pointed. "Now… how can we get to your mother?" Alecto asked, wasting no time. Surely, she must have been expecting this.

"I don't know," Ellie said quickly.

"But surely you must know," Alecto continued smoothly. Ellie didn't say anything, just trained her eyes on the wall in front of her as she heard Alecto slowly start to walk around her. "Well… suppose we'll just get to it, then. Crucio."

Blinding, hot pain coursed through Ellie as she fell to her knees and tears sprung to her eyes. She shrieked loudly. She had never, ever felt anything like this before and all she could do was pray for it to stop.

But just as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared, leaving Ellie panting, her hands splayed out on the floor in front of her, keeping her from completely falling over.

"Keep it together," she told herself silently. She couldn't let Alecto break her. Still gasping for air, she looked up at the woman, who was stalking around her.

"Did that loosen your lips?" she asked expectantly.

"I won't say anything," Ellie managed to get out.

"Thought so," Alecto replied.

Without warning, the pain was back, and Ellie screamed loudly as she screwed her eyes shut. How the hell was she going to survive an hour of this? It was impossible. There was no way. It was on the tip of her tongue to shout for Alecto to stop. That she would tell her everything.

"Don't give in, Ellie my girl… Fight it…"

Ellie's eyes flew open at the sound of her father's voice in her head. He wouldn't give in. Neither would her mother. She had to be strong for them.

The pain stopped as Ellie's elbows buckled and she dropped to the floor, the stone cooling her face as tears streamed down.

"So, Ms. Black," Alecto said, her shoes clipping against the stone floor. "Where is your mother?"

"It won't change anything," Ellie managed to say. "Even if you knew, even if you took him to her, he'll never love you. He's incapable of it." She pushed herself up, locking eyes with Alecto. "You're just a pawn to him."

"I highly doubt that," Alecto said, tapping her wand against her palm. "I am far more valuable to him than your bitch of a mother. Or even yourself." A strangled laugh left Ellie's mouth and she had to admit, even to her own ears she sounded half mad.

"Then why is he after her? Why does he want her so badly? Why is he having you do his dirty work?" she said, feeling snot also pouring down from her nose. "Evan Selwyn doesn't get his hands dirty. He makes those he sees as inferior do it for him." Alecto's eyes flashed in anger as she walked over to Ellie and roughly grabbed her by the chin, lifting her up slightly.

"Get one thing straight. I am NOT inferior to him. You are. Your mother is," she hissed.

"Then why did he marry her and not you?" Ellie said, surprised that her voice was still even.

"She didn't deserve him!" Alecto bellowed. "It should have been me! She stole the life I was supposed to have!" Ellie's eyes widened slightly, but before she could react, Alecto's wand cut through the air sharply and the pain was back tenfold.

She couldn't register anything as she fell to the ground, shrieking as stars danced before her eyes. Everything disappeared around her as all she could think was how badly she wanted it to stop. She knew that she was shouting things, but in her addled mind, she couldn't tell what it was. All she wanted was for the pain to stop.

And then it did stop, though Ellie didn't stop screaming. It took a few more moments before she realized that she was lying on the floor of Alecto's office, staring up at the ceiling. The only sound that of her heavy breathing.

"You have far too much Sirius Black in you. But no matter. I will break you…"

In the blink of an eye, a sort of calm came over Ellie. She remembered that her wand was in her pocket. Alecto was still going on about how she would get all of the secrets out of Ellie. But it was all the time she needed to react. Moving quickly, she pulled her wand out and shouted. Alecto was mid-pace and didn't move fast enough, the stunning spell hitting her full in the chest. Huffing, Ellie pushed herself up, managing to get to her feet and stumbling towards the door.

She needed to get away as fast as she could. In her weakened state, there was no way the stunning spell would last that long and then there would be even more hell to pay once Alecto got hold of her again.

She careened through the hallways, wondering just why they were so empty. Surely, she hadn't been in there that long. Other students should have been milling about, heading towards their common rooms or the library or somewhere.

But she pushed it aside as one thought took over her mind - she needed to get to the room of requirement.

Finally, in what seemed like hours later but was more likely minutes, Ellie stumbled down the corridor and came to a stop, waiting for the door to appear. As soon as it did, she pushed it open, collapsing as soon as she was inside. Her entire body hurt as she struggled to get enough air into her lungs.

"Bloody hell!" someone shouted. She could hear footsteps coming towards her, though she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Quick, get her over here. To a cot."

Ellie felt arms lift her up and then she was cradled against a broad chest. Her head thumped into it as they moved. She was then gently placed down on something, felt a soft pillow behind her head.

"Ellie? Ellie. Open your eyes. What happened?"

She opened her eyes for a moment, barely making out Seamus' face above hers.

"Carrow…" she managed to say before everything went black.

Ellie groaned slightly as she came to. Though her eyes were still closed, her head hurt something fierce. As did the rest of her body. She heard shuffling and finally managed to open her eyes. Seamus was seated next to her, but already Neville, Ginny, Meredith and Moira were making their way over.

"Thank Merlin you're awake," Ginny breathed her brow furrowed. "I could kill you, you know? For giving yourself up like that."

"Better me than Meredith," Ellie muttered, not even able to muster up the strength to sit up. "She used the Cruciatus Curse."

The statement was met with silence as Meredith and Moira looked at each other in shock and an angry look came over Ginny's face. Neville lost all color as Seamus continued to stare down at her, his expression unreadable.

"I didn't say anything. Manage to stun her and get away before it got too bad," Ellie said. "Or well… before it got as bad as it could have…"

"I don't care what you say, you are not leaving this room again, Ellie Black," Ginny stated. "She'll be looking for you and you are not safe."

"Wasn't going to fight you on it, though it'd be nice if someone could get my things for me," Ellie replied, too weary to put up any sort of fight. Truth be told, she knew she had no other options at this point. She had stunned a professor and ran out on detention. Alecto likely already had half of Slytherin looking for her so they could drag her back in.

"Good," Ginny said with a nod. She then looked over at Meredith and Moira. "Let's go."

The three girls then walked away, as Neville silently followed, unable to look at her.

"I'm not dead," Ellie said, her eyes falling on Seamus. Though there was a split second earlier when she had wished that she was - if it made the pain stop.

"But you could be," he replied softly. "When I heard that you got detention, I was so worried. No one said they saw you before you left - we were supposed to find you and bring you here. And I… I just knew that she'd do something bad…" His voice cut out as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, Elle. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. All I could think about was… the last time I spoke to you, I was yelling bullshite about Nott… I know there's nothing between you two..."

Ellie sighed and reached for his hand, squeezing it. While she would have rather he apologized without the near death experience on her part, she was happy that he had finally gotten over himself. She would take it.

"Promise me that you'll drop it," she said softly. "He needs our help." Seamus nodded.

"Of course," he replied.

"And stop looking at me like that. I'm alive. And I'll be fine in no time," she said. "Besides, looks like we're going to get loads of quality time together now." He just stared at her, unable to respond. Ellie swallowed and looked away, trying not to think about what had happened. "How long was I out?"

"Couple hours," he replied. "But got some food here from Aberforth," he said, motioning to a nearby table. "Gone a bit cold, but I can heat it up for you."

"Thanks. Not hungry at the moment, but sure I will be soon," she said softly, starting to push herself up into a seated position.

"You should rest," he said, though he didn't move to touch her. Ellie sighed and laid back down. While the pain was gone, the memory of it had all her joints aching. "I've been thinking… it's not safe here anymore. We should try and find a way to leave. Run away."

Ellie was quiet a few moments, knowing that he was right. She had gotten away from Alecto - briefly had the upper hand against her - and that would have her stark raving mad. If she was planning something with Evan, then she would stop at nothing to find Ellie. And then there was the fact that Evan Selwyn could attempt to get into the castle at any time.

"I think you might be right," she said. "But how?"

"Not sure, but we can get to Hogsmeade. Surely Aberforth could help us get out of the village. We could go to the manor. You said that it's under the Fidelius Charm?" Ellie nodded.

"What about your parents?" she asked.

"Told you, they've been in hiding for a long time now. They'll be safer without me there. And outside them, I've nowhere else to go. I can get word to them where I am," he said. Ellie looked away, her brow furrowed.

"But… how to we get to the manor? You need me to get you in but I can't use magic without them tracing it," she said, trying to think of a way - any way - they could get there. At the moment, their best option was going the muggle way.

"I'm 17 - I can apparate us somewhere close once we're away from the castle. Or Aberforth might be able to get in contact with your mother or Lupin," he replied. "There's got to be a way…" He stopped speaking for a moment, just staring down at her. Then he leaned down, pulling her up into his arms. "Please… don't ever scare me like that again," he whispered as he held her tightly. "I thought I would never see you again… I don't know how we're going to do it, but I'm going to get us out of here."

Ellie couldn't respond, tears pricking at her eyes. She found that all she could do was cling to him as though he were the only thing in the castle that could save her. And she didn't much want to let go. They would find a way out.

They had to.