Author's Note
It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me nooooow…
Glad to see you haven't lost your flair for the musical dramatics in the time we've been away!
What can I say, there are some things even a global pandemic can't change.
So, it's been a year… We're back, hi.
Would we call it a year? I was thinking more of a circus of successive catastrophes.
They're basically synonyms at this point, but yes.
So, apologies are in order. We never expected to keep you guys waiting so long and we hope this chapter makes up for it!
If not, well, that's wildly unfortunate, but fair enough! We're (ideally) not going to take so long next time - touch wood.
The organic material, not the Gryffindor Keeper. Although… No, No. Stop it, you rascals. Always getting us in trouble.
Do we need to stage another intervention?
...No.
Good. We hope that you enjoy this slice of wizarding shenaniganry...
...and for everyone struggling or self-isolating right now, we're thinking of you. Stay safe and well, and take a moment to immerse yourself in the true magic of the wizarding world. The books, the films. You deserve it.
DumbleSocks
Chapter Seven: The Part Where Ella Becomes A Literary Crusader
"For the last time Frank, it's raspberry sauce. Raspberries. They're a fruit!"
"That doesn't make it a nutritious lunch, Addy. It's still just ice-cream."
"Just ice-cre- Who hurt you as a child?"
Frank turned to Ella with a look she knew only too well, having worn it countless times throughout her friendship with Addy. She preferred to think of it as a mixture of bemusement, exasperation, and inexplicable fondness.
"Ella," Frank pleaded. "Please. Please. Talk some sense into her."
Ella grinned at him, putting down the book she had been trying to read rather unsuccessfully for the past ten minutes. It had been two weeks since they had started learning magic with Frank, but it could have been years with how effortlessly the three of them had found their dynamic. There was just something impossible to dislike about Frank Longbottom, with his easy-going charms and gentle humour. Underneath the good-natured teasing, however, Ella noticed a protective streak that branched a mile wide. This streak appeared to have latched onto the two of them, operating with all the tenacity of a great big, fluffy guard dog – which was sweet, really it was. Unfortunately, it also happened to clash wildly at times with Addy's somewhat... unique understanding of her own personal well-being.
That is, Addy had very little understanding of her own personal wellbeing.
Ella patted him consolingly on the arm. "Frank my dear, you've had the exact same argument with her every day this week. I think it's time to admit defeat. She's as stubborn as a hippogriff when she wants to be."
Frank shook his head, looking slightly lost. "I just don't understand how you're functioning properly. All the lessons we're doing, plus you've just started your new job… All I've ever seen you eat is Florean's ice-cream - and a truly alarming amount of fizzing whizbees. You should be dead!"
Addy licked her ice-cream cone in what she clearly thought was a very grand and impressive manner. "What can I say, Frank. I'm a miracle of nature. Would I call myself a hero of the masses? Well, that's for others to decide."
"I'd call you a mucky puppy," Ella sighed, reaching over to wipe away the rather large dollop of ice-cream Addy had managed to get on her nose. She snuck a cereal bar into her coat pocket for good measure, winking discreetly at Frank as she did so. "How old are you again?"
"Shut up," Addy said grumpily, rubbing the spot Ella had just cleaned. "It's melty."
"How are your jobs going, anyway?" Frank asked curiously, taking a bite of his sandwich.
Florean had utilised his Diagon Alley contacts to pull some strings for the pair, getting them stints of retail work for the summer. Addy had been working part-time at Quality Quidditch Supplies for the past week, getting paid a great deal below minimum wage but having a good time all the same. This was actually a better arrangement than expected. Her grandmother had told her numerous times that pay in the seventies equated to a cup of tea and several stale digestive biscuits, so she figured that she couldn't complain. (Here though, the biscuits were more likely to strike up a conversation and ride a unicycle than fizzle out in a strong brew...* that'd be pretty cool. Maybe she should ask to be paid in biscuits?)
"Lots of brooms, lots of balls," Addy shrugged, dismissing thoughts of sentient digestives. "Can't afford either."
"Maybe if you stopped spending your wages on fizzing whizbees?" Frank queried.
"Don't try to change me Frank. And don't think I didn't notice you owl-order a personal supply of mice-pops to the shop the other day, either."
"Mam says I eat too many," the boy replied defensively, round cheeks slowly turning pink. "I have to stock up in secret!"
"If you ask me," Ella interjected wisely, steepling her fingers together in a rather magnificent impression of Dumbledore (unfortunately, sans beard). "There's no such thing as too many mice-pops. Frank, your mum exercises a suspicious amount of sugary self-restraint. Have you considered she's perhaps a grindylow in disguise?"
"Oddly enough, it's crossed my mind a time or two," Frank grinned. "It's the talons. I swear she could savage a troll with those things."
"Or frighten one to death. They are truly an alarming shade of red," Addy mused pensively as she offered Frank a sweet, past disagreement already forgotten.
They'd seen the infamous Augusta Longbottom very briefly, once, when she met Frank at the parlour, and she cut a rather imposing figure. Dressed to the nines with a stiff wide-brimmed hat and impeccably pressed robes; Diagon Alley parted like the red sea to let her through.
"I think she paints them with blood."
"Has she ever thought about a career in bullfighting?"
Ella could see that this conversation was getting violently off-track (which she'd largely instigated herself by bringing grindylows into the mix, but she was hardly about to point that out). She smiled fondly at how easily distracted her friends were, before clearing her throat. "As for your original question, work's great. I'm surrounded by books for eight hours a day, what more could I ask for?"
In a remarkable (read: potentially disastrous) twist of fate, Ella had ended up as a weekend staff member of Flourish and Blotts, under the ever-suspicious (and slightly protruding) gaze of Trevor the toad-faced assistant. As back-to-school shopping was yet to reach its peak, it was the perfect excuse for her to catch up on some of the reading for Hogwarts and hunt out any books that might be relevant to her and Addy's situation.
Admittedly she'd been somewhat delayed by her staff training. This, all things considered, seemed rather extensive for a simple bookshop. Trevor had put her through a series of increasingly ridiculous tests ('What would you do if a nefarious wizard released a demiguise in the arithmancy section?') which she had largely winged. Eventually, however, when she'd learned and relearned the emergency evacuation methods ('should a Chinese Fireball ever burst into the store') he'd seemed to run out of steam. Thus, he'd declared her responsible enough to man the till on her own for the day.
Frank laughed. "Should have expected that, I guess. You're miles ahead of Addy in your potions reading, even with the 'Trials of Trevor' going on."
"I resent that accusation," Addy cut in, mildly affronted.
"It's not an accusation if it's true."
"Eh, I'll get round to it."
"Still," Frank continued, ignoring Addy's outburst, as was the norm. "I don't suppose you could get me a discount, could you? Mam's making me pay for my own books this year, wants me to learn the value of money and whatnot." He paused, cheeks reddening again. "That's why I'm working at Florean's actually; it's my first job."
"I'm not sure I'm quite high enough in Trevor's esteem for a friends and family concession just yet," Ella chuckled, before noticing Frank's face fall. "But I think as an employee I probably get some form of discount? Just let me know what you need, I can always tell Trevor I'm buying myself spares."
Frank brightened immediately. "Cheers, Ella!"
"Good call," Addy nodded sagely, taking another dramatic lick of her ice-cream. "Old Trev probably knows how clumsy you are by now. Ten galleons say you'll drop your first set of books in the black lake trying to pet the giant squid."
Frank snickered. "Or she'll lose them in the forbidden forest, chasing a unicorn."
Ella's eyes narrowed dangerously at the pair. She looked at Addy, who continued to maul her ice-cream with a deceptively innocent expression. Then she turned her gaze to Frank, who was struggling to contain his chuckles. When he saw her look, however, his face immediately went blank. Ella's lips twitched upwards. She'd been practising her death stare in secret for a couple of years now. It was mostly reserved for whenever she caught her brother sneaking her CLEARLY LABELLED snacks. Still, it came in handy elsewhere. Before she could intimidate the pair further, the Gringotts clock sounded firmly in the distance, marking 1pm.
"Consider yourselves the most fortunate souls in the universe," Ella enunciated slowly, shooting them each one last glare as she rose to stand and began gathering her belongings for work. Frank audibly swallowed.
"Yeah Frank, God," Addy chimed, coming to stand next to Ella as she stuffed the last, particularly hefty, bit of cone in her mouth. "frwing 'er gnrosity in 'er face like tha'. 'our beyn so mean to Ella, an' she was on'y tryin' to 'elp." She patted Ella on the shoulder consolingly as she finished chewing, apparently oblivious to the perplexed look on her friend's face. "I got your back, Jack. Let's ditch this ungrateful raspberry-sauce-judger."
With that Addy grabbed Ella's arm, spinning them round with as much flounce as she could manage and practically dragging them towards Flourish and Blotts as Frank looked on, feeling lost. So very, very lost.
The pair trundled across Diagon Alley, making their way to where Flourish and Blotts stood, directly opposite Eeylops Owl Emporium. It wasn't an impressive building, Ella thought. Not really; there were no grand designs, like Madam Malkin's next door, or wacky architecture like Gambol & Japes up the road. Instead, it rather looked like a regular bookshop: one you might see on the high-street of any old muggle town or city. The place was adorned with wooden panels, stained a faded, forest green, and had worn, golden lettering that spelled Flourish & Blotts. The two windows were taller than the girls on their tippy-toes and almost as wide, revealing great stacks of books: some tatty and well-loved, some fresh, stiff and waiting for their first owner. No, Ella concurred, it wasn't an impressive shop. However, it was comfortable, homely, and in the rush of all this mystery and amazement, maybe that was just a little bit of magic itself.
As they entered the shop, Ella twisted the sign from 'closed' to 'open' before promptly losing herself in the stacks. She'd offhandedly (foolishly) claimed she'd found a Defense Against the Dark Arts text almost ridiculous enough to match her friend, and Addy was determined to have proof. In contrast, Addy immediately threw herself down on the closest soft furnishing. There were ten minutes still left on her break and she decided that she would put them to good use 'keeping Ella company', which loosely translated as 'lounging around in plush armchairs reading books and distracting her' until she had to leave.
After thirty seconds or so of ferreting through the aisles, Ella emerged with a large, gaudy looking book entitled 'Foes to Flamingos'. The illustration on the front cover depicted a hunched over, somewhat dastardly-looking wizard flourishing a wild-eyed flamingo as a wand whilst a crouching house elf looked on, horrified. Ella went to hand the book to Addy with the aura of one passing over the codes to nuclear missiles.
"Please. Please. Don't make me regret this."
"No promises."
Addy settled down, eyes alight with pink possibilities as she mouthed along to the words on the page. Ella chuckled to herself as peace settled in the shop, before glancing back down at the copy of 'Unfogging the Future' that lay open on her desk.
Although she had only been working there for a few weeks she had begun to greatly enjoy the gentle calm of the shop, only occasionally interrupted by impromptu waves of busy customers whom she greeted with a smile and a remarkable memory for where exactly that last copy of The Invisible Book of Invisibility had been placed (no real special talent on her part, just an innate clumsiness that for once worked to her advantage. She was always tripping over it).
"Ella, Ella, look. Look at this!" Addy frantically gestured to a page adorned with pirouetting goldfish in lime green tutus.
"Uh-huh," Ella responded distantly, pupils still roving over the text in front of her at breakneck speed. "Looks great, Addy. Very fascinating"
"Do you think Florean will let me try this on his raspberry ripple?"
"Mmm. Go for your life."
Addy raised an eyebrow at her distracted friend.
"Hey, El, are you having an erotically-charged affair with Trevor?"
"Absolutely," Ella murmured, not even lifting her eyes. "100%."
Addy snickered before becoming suddenly embroiled in a particularly vivid description of a hex that turned testicles to cabbages. Important stuff to know.
The pair sat in silence for a minute or two, both equally invested in their respective reading. In the little while she'd worked there, Ella had dedicated much of her time in the store's slow hours to ploughing through the pile of (incredibly expensive) texts she and Addy had initially identified as useful when they first arrived. Unfortunately, she hadn't found anything concrete so far. There were a couple of abstract theories surrounding time-travel and alternate universes, but nothing that would really stand up outside a sci-fi film franchise. Yesterday, Ella had decided to try a different tack, moving onto prophecy and divination, fates and the like, but she was beginning to think that 'Unfogging the Future' and all its relevant counterparts might be a bust too. Still, she kept reading.
The pair were so engrossed that neither of them heard the bell to the door chime. Or the slow, rubbery shuffle of patent leather footsteps as they walked into the stacks, up the aisles and right back out again, over to the counter.
A throat cleared, quietly.
Ella didn't look up.
It tried again, following with a slightly overemphasised exhale.
Ella's eyebrows furrowed.
A cough. Two coughs.
She frowned.
Overly long fingernails began tapping exaggeratedly on the counter.
Ella snapped.
"Addy, jeez, what- oh."
Looking up, Ella flushed, realising that it was not, in fact, Addy clamouring for her attention. Instead, there was a customer with a rather irked expression on his long, pallid face. Familiarity prickled the back of her neck, but Ella shook it off, swiftly covering her moment of confusion with a smile and thanking various ambiguous deities that Trevor hadn't been present to witness her inattention.
"Sorry about that, I thought- er, you know what, nevermind. May I help you?"
The man – boy – sniffed, peevishly.
"Yes, I require a copy of The Advanced Ingredient Encyclopaedia, Phyllida Spore's edition. It should be in the Potions aisle," he paused, "it's not."
"Hmm," Ella pondered, studying the surly individual. He had a peculiar look about him; with his waxy complexion and sober features, she couldn't quite guess the age. He could have been fifteen or thirty and she wouldn't have been surprised at either. "Advanced Ingred- oh!" Ella smiled. "Yes, I do believe that was moved over to the Herbology section just last week. No wonder you couldn't find it."
He gave a slight sneer.
"That would be your doing, I suppose."
"Excuse me?"
"Editions of The Advanced Ingredient Encyclopaedia have been housed alongside potions textbooks for a minimum of six years," he responded dourly. "That's where they're supposed to be kept."
"Well, mate," Addy interjected, clearly implying the opposite, "times are 'a changing. So, how about you watch your tone?"
Ella rubbed her temples and sent her friend a short warning look. It read something along the lines of 'thanks for having my back, but please don't get me fired'. Addy shrugged, holding up her hands in mock surrender, before nestling back down to her book.
Ella turned back to the customer, who was looking somewhat displeased. That sense of familiarity was back in her brain, niggling and nebbing where it didn't belong. There was something about his dark, lank, hair… It felt like that time she saw her old primary school teacher in Sainsburys and couldn't immediately work out why she knew him.
"I apologise if the new system has caused you any confusion," she began, placatingly, "but since the text's contents are primarily concerned with ingredients in their raw state, my employer" Ella stressed the word (for perhaps a second too long), "thought it was more apt for the herbology section."
He opened his mouth, as if to retort, but Ella continued. "However, I am more than happy to search it out for you - I think I was actually reading that one the other day – remarkable what you can do with fluxweed now, isn't it?"
Addy snickered, lightly coughing the word 'nerd' at her friend. However, the customer looked reluctantly pacified. There was a moment of silence before he gave a curt nod and said quietly, "yes, that would be helpful." He paused, pulling a face like he had just swallowed a mouthful of cockroach cluster. "...thank you."
As Ella took tall, dark and surly into the shelves to search for his book, Addy jokingly remarked "I'll woman the front desk," her eyes narrowing as she heard Oscar the Grouch mutter something snarky under his breath as he passed.
A few minutes later the bell chimed once more. Not even looking up, Addy yelled towards the door.
"She'll be with you in a tick, she's just seeing a man about some potions!"
"Don't worry about it, I'm just browsing," a deep, and slightly husky voice replied.
"You do you, man." Addy quipped, entranced by an illustration of a spell that appeared to turn eyebrows to caterpillars.
Ella emerged from the stacks clutching a large hardback book triumphantly in her hands like the sword of Excalibur while she chattered away to the original customer, who looked mildly less repulsed by his surroundings. He even began replying to her remark about gillyweed, before stopping abruptly in his tracks.
"Lupin."
"Severus."
Addy's head finally snapped up from the pages.
Stood in the centre of Flourish & Blotts, looking like they'd rather be anywhere else, were two of Hogwarts' finest. Or would be, in approximately twenty years or so. While Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were stubbornly trying their best to look anywhere except at each-other, Addy gestured wildly at the pair, mouthing their names to a wide-eyed Ella, who quickly schooled her expression when an uneasy Sna- Severus glanced her way.
"Just getting your books for this year are you, Severus?" Lupin asked with a strained politeness, clearly discombobulated by the events at hand but trying his best to remain civil.
"Yes," Snape replied, tersely.
"Yeesh," Addy muttered, just loudly enough for everyone to hear. "You could cut this with a knife."
If it was possible, Snape's shoulders tensed even more than before. Ella cleared her throat gently, engaging Lupin for the first time.
"Do you need anything before I see to….?" she turned to the young man next to her.
"Severus," Snape muttered, scowling at the ground.
"...Severus, here?" Ella finished, giving him her most reassuring smile. His scowl softened slightly.
"I'm good, just, er, just browsing," Lupin responded, shuffling on his feet and running a hand awkwardly through the soft brown mop of his hair. He was tall, several inches taller than Severus, his slightly overgrown, tawny locks framing a tanned face littered with a gentle smattering of freckles. He smiled (a little uncomfortably) at everyone, before strolling over to the corner of the shop and disappearing behind the shelves.
Ella turned to Snape. "Let's see to this book then, now we've found its hiding place."
She rang up the text with maximum efficiency, as per Trevor's training ('In the event a ghoul is chasing the last customer out the shop'), and slipped it into a paper bag before handing it to the young potions master.
"Here you go. Let me know when you're next in need of a questing partner!"
Snape nodded brusquely at her, clutching his purchase with careful hands. He then turned his back on them and swiftly exited the store.
"Well," Addy said, "that was wildly uncomfortable."
"Hmm," Ella replied distractedly, still looking at the door where Snape had gone.
"What's up, pal?" Addy asked, popping her head into Ella's line of view.
"I'm not sure," she replied, worrying her lower lip in deep thought. "Something about these two, and knowing how they end up. Do you think we were supposed to meet them here, today?"
"I'm guessing 'freak accident' isn't a convincing enough explanation for you?"
"Shockingly, no," Ella chuckled. "I mean, we know that nothing in the books was a coincidence, not really. Fate, destiny-"
"Dumbledore?"
"The man is a force unto himself, but perhaps not a cosmic force Addy."
"Well, agree to disagree. The guy is wizard Jesus."
"But it's hard to believe that we were sent here for no reason."
"Hmmm. Much as I hate to admit it, I agree. This has probably got to be about more than us going to Hogwarts. Finally. Although, that's pretty exciting."
"Pretty exciting?"
"Hey, I was playing it cool. We don't want another butterbeer incident."
"Ah yes, yes, of course," Ella's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Hold on - aren't you supposed to be at work?"
'Merlin's Balls! You're right!'
Ella looked at Addy questioningly.
"What? I was trying something out!" Addy protested, dashing off across the shop, cursing all the while. "Bloody named characters, distracting me." She hurtled through the door, bell tinkling violently, before her head suddenly popped back through. "Ooh, and put that book on hold. Unless you want to buy it for me... Because you love me. And because I spent all my money on fizzing whizbees. Byeeeeeeee!"
Ella shook her head with a smile before returning to her desk. She sat there for a little while, her thoughts pirouetting like the goldfish in Addy's book. So many questions, and no way of answering them. It was enough to drive her mad. Sighing, Ella reached for the open pot of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans that she'd placed next to the till a couple of hours earlier. All this metaphysical thinking was too much for a Saturday afternoon. She dipped her hand in and chose one without hesitating, brazenly popping the bean into her mouth and beginning to chew slowly.
"That was a dangerous move, if ever I've seen one," a slightly rough voice declared. "Larger individuals than you have fallen to the plight of the every-flavoured-bean."
Ella swallowed the bean, and looked up to see Remus Lupin standing in front of her, a gentle half-smile occupying his face. In the faint sunlight streaming through the shop windows Ella could make out a litany of scars intersecting his features, glistening in a pale silver network. They were a little like what Ella would imagine memories to look like, swirling enchantingly in Dumbledore's pensieve. Drawing her in so she might uncover their secrets.
"Are you speaking about yourself?" she asked, amused. "Because you'd be right to be wary. That one was bouillabaisse, as far as I can tell. Shellfish and sugar, a risky combination."
"Ah, but is it the risk you enjoy?"
"Absolutely," Ella responded. "Carpe diem and all that. Fancy playing Russian roulette yourself?"
She offered him the pot.
"I fear I may not be as much of a thrill-seeker as you," Remus teased, wringing the lapel of his cardigan in a show of mock-nervousness.
"Seize the day," Ella encouraged, feigning a serious expression. She presented the container to him. "I dare you."
"You dare me?" he exclaimed, grinning. "Well, now it's simply a matter of pride." He reached into the pot of beans and blindly plucked one, holding it out in his palm for them both to examine. It was unsuspecting; a whitish-blue, with a vague shimmer to it. "This doesn't look too offensive, but I'd best give it the once-over just to make sure."
Remus made a show of scrutinising the bean, positioning it far too close to his eye for 'detailed inspection', and exaggeratedly sniffing it. He then shrugged, nonchalantly popping it in his mouth. Immediately his face scrunched, and he began to gag and splutter. After a couple of seconds, and with some effort, he reluctantly swallowed the sweet, pulling a face.
"Soap?" Ella asked, sympathetically.
"No," he replied, grimacing. "I just really don't like coconut."
Ella chuckled at him, shaking her head. "You poor thing." She quickly rooted through the pot and pulled out a dark purple bean, handing it to Remus. "Here, sugared violet, I think? Should cover up the taste."
Remus took the sweet appreciatively.
"Interesting. Who'd have thought it would be coconut that brought a grown man to his knees? Not vomit, or earthworm?"
He laughed, unconsciously leaning toward her. "Earthworm, I can deal with. Give me coconut, or Merlin forbid, banana, and I'm a fallen soldier."
"Banana? You're crazy."
"And you're new," he countered, appearing to surprise himself with the swiftness of his response. He scratched his neck awkwardly. "I mean, aren't you? I don't think I've seen you before. I er, I spend a lot of time here."
"I started a few weeks ago. My cousin Addy and I only moved here recently."
"I take it Addy is the fizzing whizbee fan?"
"How did you guess?" Ella chuckled.
"It takes one to know one. Good book she was holding. I'd, er, definitely recommend it if you haven't read it. Helped me no end with passing my DADA OWL."
"Foes to Flamingos helped you pass your Defence Against the Dark Arts exam?" She asked, somewhat skeptically.
"Well, no," He admitted. "But it helped my friends and I get into an inordinate amount of mischief... and they were transferable skills!"
"Of course, of course," Ella conceded, grinning up at him cheekily as she reached out for the book he was clutching in his hand. She caught his eye just as her fingers curled gently over the base of the spine, and for a moment the pair stood, smiling conspiratorially at each other. As the moment stretched on, however, Ella could feel something tugging at her chest. It had never truly struck her before just how very young the marauders were.
"Are you alright?" Remus' voice brought her out of her reverie, his brows furrowed as he looked at her in concern.
"Oh, uh, yes! Sorry, I was in my own world for a second there," Ella blinked, avoiding his eyes in favour of the book he had relinquished into her hands. "I should probably ring this up for you, shouldn't I?"
"Oh, yes, well. Damn, there goes my childhood dream of becoming an international book thief," he paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm, er, joking. Obviously. Stealing's bad. Yeah."
Ella chuckled.
"And here I thought knitwear was the mark of a true criminal."
He laughed nervously once more, before the bell chimed, signalling another customer. "Well I, er, had better leave you to your afternoon of books and risk-taking, then." He was almost out the door before he turned back. "How remiss of me, I've just realised - I didn't catch your name?'
"It's Ella, Ella Williams."
"Hi Ella, I'm Remus. Remus Lupin."
*Brew - slang for a cup of tea. I'll take it strong, milk and one sugar, please and thank you. Whereas I'll leave it to die a natural death from old age, surrounded by its many family members. Its strong black coffee for me.