Author's Note

Hello… is it me you're looking for?

Starting off with a bit of Lionel as an apology note. I like it.

Well if you're gonna do it right, you gotta do it with Lionel. Not a euphemism.

So, sorry about dropping off the face of the earth. We had to fund our frivolous and elaborate lifestyles.

I.e. We got summer jobs because we have a combined total of £23.46 to our name.

Sad, but true.

We are also incredibly studious individuals who dedicate our free time to preparing for the next academic year. Absolutely. Why are you questioning this.

Yes. Studying… Anyway, onto the next chapter.

We're really sorry it's so late, but hopefully the next few chapters will make up for it! Adult life am I right?

What is this 'adult life' that you speak of?

We hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Four: The Part Where Trevor the Toad Makes an Early Appearance

Madame Malkin's, as it turned out, was fairly easy to spot; if not because of the pleasant lilac exterior then almost certainly because of the crowds of frustrated parents all attempting to drag whining pre-teens in for a uniform fitting.

'But I don't need new robes, my old ones still fit me fine!'

'Don't be ridiculous, Charles. They're already halfway up your ankles! If we leave it any longer you'll be wearing them as a necklace.'

Easing their way through many similarly dramatic scenes of struggle, Ella and Addy made it across the threshold of the shop only to be confronted with the most agitated woman they had ever met.

'Uniforms, yes? Right, up onto the pedestal. Quickly now, you're not the only ones I have to see to!'

Before either of them had chance to protest, Madame Malkin was flapping at them violently with her hands in an attempt to shimmy them along. Addy barely managed to duck to avoid getting whacked in the face with the rather long and trailing sleeves of the witch's robes, which were currently whipping back and forth through the air like a couple of lassos.

'Actually -' Ella started, before her waist was pulled so tight by a measuring tape she could barely breathe, her eyes watering as a rather unattractive wheezing noise replaced what she had been about to say.

'It's always the same way,' Madame Malkin said, as if continuing a previous conversation. 'Every summer, hundreds of parents turning up and always forgetting that it's just me and my little shop. A rush order, I ask you! Like it isn't still six weeks to go until school starts. It's not my fault their quadruplets all had a growth spurt!'

Continuing to measure Ella with one hand, her other grasped her wand and flicked it at a second measuring tape resting on a chair to the side of them. The tape immediately took on a life of its own and whizzed up to Addy, who eyed it half-suspiciously and half in wonder as it began to move around her.

'And the nerve of that man! Asking if I'd thought of using a gradual growth enchantment on my fabric. As if I don't know perfectly well that Mrs O'Connery tried that last December on her son's robes. The poor boy was nearly suffocated by them in the end.'

Addy wanted desperately to ask how large the robes had gotten, but managed to reign in the instinct. She had a feeling it would only rile Madame Malkin up further (and quite frankly, the woman was already terrifying).

'Right, dears' Madame Malkin said, slightly more camly. 'That's all done then. If you want to hop down I'll go have a look for some robes in your sizes. Won't be a moment.'

Before she could rush off, Ella hastened to correct her. 'Actually, Madame Malkin, we're not here for Hogwarts robes.'

'Not here for Hogwarts robes?' Madame Malkin repeated back to her, looking as if she wasn't sure what other reason could bring two teenagers into her shop in the middle of the summer holidays.

'We were hoping to just get some, er, normal robes. Just casual day to day robes?' Having never ordered clothes from a magical seamstress before, Ella wasn't entirely sure what she should be asking for. She gulped a little at the confused look that crossed the witch's face.

'And here I thought the current fashion for you young ones was those awful muggle clothes?'

'Well, er, yes, it is. Yes. Absolutely. Everyone's wearing muggle clothes. And that's why we thought we'd go back to traditional robes...?' Ella stammered.

'Break the mould, so to speak.' Addy offered.

'Yes, exactly.' Ella replied, relieved. 'Return to proper wizarding values and such. Set the example for our peers.'

Madame Malkin's eyes darted between the two of them, clearly trying to determine if this was a practical joke of some sort, before coming to life with such passion it sent the animated measuring tape scuttling behind the counter.

'Finally, a couple of young people with their heads screwed on right! I will never understand the appeal of those dreadful garments; either too baggy or too tight, with horrible slogans and such on them. Absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what this rolling stone is that everyone is obsessed with, but these days I can't walk down the street without people advertising it everywhere on their chests!'

Ella winced internally at that. Clearly Madame Malkin had never heard Mick Jagger's haunting vocals for Wild Horses. And don't even get her started on Keith Richards.

'We completely agree!' Addy replied 'These rolling stones and zeppelins made of lead. Not even spelled correctly! Absolutely terrible.'

'Oh, this is so exciting! Well dears, If you'll follow me I'll show you the fabric selection we have at the minute.' She smiled at the girls, her stern expression momentarily softening before she glanced at Ella, adopting a critical eye. 'I think a pleated bottom for you… Yes, that would work. And for you…' She paused a minute, looking at Addy. 'Maybe something more flared? Hmm. Let's get to work.'

They spent the next hour playing around with the hundreds of samples Madame Malkin kept at the back of the shop, gazing with wonder at the magic overflowing even from these tiny scraps of fabric. Ella was mesmerised by a deep blue velvet, so dark it was almost black, and decorated with an astronomically perfect map of the night sky. Each star winked up at her, each spiral galaxy whirling slowly as she ran the fabric through her fingers. Addy, on the other hand, was having worlds of fun watching a forest come to life on a brown and burnt orange background. Deer were chasing foxes, trees were swatting at nosy birds, and badgers were having showdowns with overconfident squirrels.

Eventually the two made their choices and informed Madame Malkin, who gave them each a sheet of parchment and told them to return in a couple of hours to collect their order. Ella mentally decided to pick up Florean's robes then also, to give them a little time to prepare for whatever questions Madame Malkin would surely fire their way about who exactly Florean was to them. Or better yet, what they were to him. His younger cousins? Nieces? Random strangers who turned up on the street? They had better sort out how much they wanted to reveal to others, and fast. When she conveyed this to Addy as they left the shop, the other girl put on what could only be called her 'mysterious Dumbledore thinking face', pretending to stroke a magnificent imaginary beard all the way down to her borrowed belt and back.

'Hmm... This is a bag of dicks,' she offered. 'Perhaps we could tell people that we're part of an exchange programme? Students at a fancy pants overseas wizarding school staying with an English family over the summer, and Florean was lucky winner number one?'

'Maybe…' Ella considered this, weighing up the pros and cons. 'But then won't people get suspicious that they've never heard of the exchange programme before? Plus, we don't speak any other languages.'

'Speak for yourself, my German is bloody magnificent.'

'Addy, being able to say 'is that a wand in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me' in German is not the same as being fluent.'

'Okay, but what else do I need to know?'

'Anyway, I think we might be jumping the gun a bit. We don't even know how long we're going to be staying. It could be that whatever brought us here goes ahead and yanks us right back any second. We need to try and figure out exactly what happened.'

Addy, who knew exactly what blend of Luna and Hermione her friend was, could have put money on what she said next.

'We need a library!'

Should have put money on it, Addy thought to herself with a grin and a slight roll of her eyes. Ella looked around excitedly, before deflating a little bit.

'Dammit. I don't think Rowling ever wrote about there being a library in Diagon Alley. Just at Hogwarts.'

Addy frowned, realising Ella was right. The books never said anything about there being a public wizarding library (granted it probably wouldn't have been the first thing to stick in her mind if they had. She loved a good book, but there were too many dragons and werewolves and general shenanigans occurring for that to take front and centre). Surely there must be something, somewhere outside of Hogwarts though, for all the self-confessed nerds like Ella who couldn't cope during the holidays without access to new reading material every day...

'Hang on just a titting minute!' Addy exclaimed excitedly. 'What about Flourish and Blotts? It's not going to be as well stocked as a library, but they might be able to point us in the right direction.'

'Addy, you're brilliant! I can't believe I never thought of Flourish and Blotts.'

'I am brilliant, that's correct. And well, you know me, not thinking outside the box so much as strapping the box to a rocket and flying it into the nearest supernova.'

'They must have some books on time magic, maybe even spells that create alternate realities. If that is what happened to us. At the very least they could tell us if something like this has ever happened before, ever been written about.'

'To Flourish and Blotts?'

'To Flourish and Blotts!'

Ten minutes later, and their enthusiasm couldn't be curbed. Not even by Trevor the less than helpful assistant.

'As far as I was aware, time magic has never been part of the Hogwarts syllabus' Trevor sniffed out in a haughty voice, his slicked back hair looking quite oily in the gaslight that illuminated the bookshop. 'Far too risky. Too much potential to give students ideas.' At the last word he looked down his rather prominent nose at them in such a way as to fully demonstrate his thoughts on the ideas of reckless, book-hating teenagers like themselves. That made Ella snort a little. He couldn't be much older than twenty-two or twenty-three himself.

'Now just hang on - ' Addy began, before Ella smoothly cut across her.

'Oh of course, quite right too. Far too dangerous to actually learn how to do time magic. No, we just wanted to understand the craft as a whole. Reading into the history of time magic, that sort of thing. We find it all incredibly fascinating.'

Trevor's thin mouth pressed firmly together, eyes narrowing as he glanced from girl to girl.

'Well. We do have a section devoted to the more arcane arts, time travel and such among them. I can show you too it if you wish. Of course, those texts are some of the priciest of our collection.' He arched an eyebrow at this, clearly doubting their ability to afford such high-calibre items.

'Wonderful, we'll take a look please.' Ella replied with a civil smile, her own eyebrows rising ever so slightly to match his. Challenge accepted.

With a 'hmmmph' Trevor led them to a corner at the back of the shop where he indicated a tall bookshelf surrounded by several glass cabinets, housing what Ella supposed were the most rare and expensive books.

'You should find everything you need here. If you wish to take a look at any of the locked texts you will need to inform myself or another member of staff. Do be careful, these books are not something you can replace with pocket money alone.' With that he turned on his heel and began walking swiftly back to his seat of power at the front of the shop, nose slightly in the air.

'What a dickbag. That dude needs to chill the heck out.' Addy burst out indignantly, evidently having been holding herself back the entire time. 'I mean what does he think we're going to do? Start building a fort out of them?' Her eyes suddenly glazed over with the prospect of a new idea. 'Ella -'

'No, Addy,' Ella stopped her short, an amused look on her face. 'We can't build a fort out of the very expensive books. Remember, they can't be replaced with pocket money alone.' She stuck her nose up in the air, donning the expression of someone who had just stood in dog poo (which she had unfortunately done many times. Having three dogs can be a real hassle sometimes).

'We could always charge for entrance into our fort? Get a little profit going?'

'I think we might send Trevor into an early grave if we tried.'

'Bloody Trevor.' Addy paused, brows furrowing. 'Trevor. Where have I heard that name before?'

'It's not particularly unusual Ad, he's hardly called Fifi Trixibelle or-'

'Trevor! Neville's toad. Oh this has opened up so many avenues. Ella, I'm not sure the world is ready for all the amphibian-based jokes I've got planned.'

'God help us.' Ella replied with a grin, before turning to the shelves with a more sober expression. 'Right, we need to work out some sort of system. Maybe a pile for the books about time travel, and another for anything else we find that we think could help?'

'Sounds good to me. Let's crack this egg.'

Forty-five minutes later, however, and they didn't have two piles of books so much as twelve piles, and counting.

'Bloody hell, by the time we finish reading all these we'll need time magic just to go back to when we weren't old and grey!' Addy exclaimed somewhere to Ella's right, hidden behind piles number five and six.

'I know, I didn't expect them to have so many! It won't all be useful, of course, but at least we have a lot to be going on with. There must be something in one of these books that can help us.' Exactly what 'help' meant, however, was changing hourly for the two girls. Last night it would have been something that could reverse what had happened and send them home. Ella wasn't so sure that an immediate escape route was what they both wanted anymore.

'How the heck are we going to pay for all this though?' Addy made her way around the piles and dropped onto the floor next to Ella. 'Florean seems a pretty top bloke, but I'm not sure he'd be willing to sell half his ice-cream shop just so we can buy a few books.'

'Well, we'll have to figure something out. I suppose we could get jobs? Florean might be willing to let us work in the parlour. Of course, that's assuming he's letting us stay with him that long.' Ella's brow furrowed in worry. She had been too busy just making it through the day and finding answers she hadn't thought about the more obvious problems they were dealing with. Like making sure they had somewhere to sleep, not living on the streets, that kind of thing.

'There's no way he would just turn us out.' Addy replied firmly. 'Anyone who takes in two randos, one looking like she'd just walked off the set of Carrie, feeds them delicious ice-cream and then gives them money to purchase new clothes is someone my grams liked to call 'a good chicken'. Or an absolute bloody fool.'

'Do you mean a good egg?' Ella questioned, her lips twitching with the effort to hold back a smile.

'...Nope, I definitely mean a good chicken. Think about it, it's the chicken that gives you all the delicious eggs, day after day. What good is one lousy egg compared to an egg machine?'

Pleased with her reasoning, Addy nodded triumphantly to herself just as Ella descended into her own particular brand of silent laughter, rocking herself back and forth on the floor and nearly knocking over pile three in the process.

'What? It isn't funny! I was making a serious point there!' Addy prodded her friend, looking slightly put out. 'Although I suppose my Grandma wasn't the most reliable source. She is a certified alcoholic - I'm actually surprised she hasn't pickled at this point.'

'What on earth have you done!'

The two girls hadn't heard Trevor approach, but judging from the look on his face he was not a happy bunny. To Addy's utter delight, however, he did resemble more than ever the toad which would come to share his name . His eyes were bulging as they surveyed the book piles before him, and his mouth kept opening and closing in shock. Or possibly anger. Or maybe just general disbelief. They should have just built the damn fort, Addy thought. He might have actually turned green.

'Ah, Trevor,' Ella quickly got to her feet, wiping the tears of laughter that had escaped her. 'Yes. We had a lot of success, as you can see.'

'All I see is an utter contempt for the organisational system of this shop!' Trevor's voice grew steadily higher and higher in pitch as he clutched at his heart. 'No respect whatsoever amongst you...you...hoodlums! Have you any idea how long this will take to put everything back in its proper place?'

'About two seconds, surely?' Addy replied, looking confused. 'You know, wave your magic wand and hey presto, sorted.'

'Well that's…' Trevor appeared to be struggling with an answer to this. 'That's beside the point! It's the principle of the matter.'

'Uh huh.' Addy deadpanned, throwing Ella a look that clearly said can you believe this guy?

'Trevor.' Ella put on her most placating voice. 'I completely appreciate what you're saying, but I made an exact note of where each text came from. I never had any intention of leaving your shop in such a state. Addy and I will happily put everything back before we go.'

Trevor grumbled something to himself but seemed slightly appeased. Addy, on the other hand, looked like someone had just swapped her Capri Sun with a beetroot and carrot smoothie. Before she could say anything to Ella, however, the other girl was struck with a sudden thought.

'Trevor, I don't suppose you know anything about the Potter family?' It was a long shot, but they needed to establish if this really was the timeline they believed it was, and more specifically when in the timeline they were. They'd seen Regulus, but nothing was certain with interdimensional time travel. Surely James and his parents must have been in the shop before?

'Of course I know the Potters,' Trevor drew himself to his full height and puffed his chest out impressively. 'One of the oldest wizarding families. They always ask for my assistance when buying young Master James' school textbooks. You must be around his age I suppose' He added dismissively, as if he were thirty years older than them rather than the more likely four or five. 'About to start your sixth year at Hogwarts?'

Ella and Addy looked at each-other excitedly. 'Sorry Trevor, but we really must rush off! We'll just put these back first of course.' Ella added hastily, catching the murderous look on the shop assistant's face.

'And I don't suppose you intend on buying anything, do you?'

'Well we're currently in what you might call a...reduced funds situation.' Addy said, giving him her best roguish grin. 'But once we've kitted ourselves up with jobs we'll definitely be back.'

'Very well. But you'd better return soon; it is against our policy to keep anything on hold, except for the most distinguished customers.' With a look that said he clearly did not view the two of them with such honour, he left them to it.

'Well isn't he just a ray of sunshine?' Ella mused aloud, glancing after Trevor's retreating figure.

'Is he saying that we aren't distinguished? Oof. I'll show him distinguish-'

Ella yanked Addy by the collar and pulled her over to the piles of books.

'Defend our honour later, this might take a while.'

'C'mon Ella, if I don't get a butterbeer soon I might actually implode.'

'You haven't had a butterbeer for seventeen years, Addy. You can manage for five more minutes.'

'I haven't had the means before now Ella, everything has changed. I'm a new woman.'

Ella shook her head in amused exasperation. 'Florean asked us to collect his order from Slug and Jiggers, and after everything he's done for us it's the very least we can do. Anyway, it barely took ten minutes for Mr Jiggers to get everything together.'

'Ten minutes? I think we might have been talking to different men. Because I recall at least twenty minutes on the advantages of flobberworm mucus as a thickening agent alone.' Addy harrumphed in frustration. 'Then he started talking about his prized leeches. The man keeps leeches, Ella. Leeches.'

'I have to say, not my first choice for a pet. However, he did look to be about one-hundred-and-five, slightly anaemic, and he wore a top-hat indoors, so I'm not quite sure what kind of hobbies you'd expect from him.'

Having fulfilled all their other errands, the two were finally headed to the Leaky Cauldron for a spot of lunch and Addy's much anticipated butterbeer. As they walked through the door they noticed that the pub was fairly empty compared to the rest of the street, other than a few patrons who looked like they never gave up their seats at the bar, and a table of Armenian wizards in the back left corner who appeared to be playing a game of poker with a hunk of liver and three dragon claws.

They approached the bar, searching for some kind of menu. The dark mahogany of the countertop looked hard-wearing but abused, bearing the battle scars of thousands of customers over many decades. It had surely seen some things in its time, Ella thought to herself, running a finger gently over the many overlapping crescents etched deeply into the wood. She wondered if one belonged to Dumbledore, perhaps after a few too many firewhiskeys? Or maybe McGonagall on the gigglewater after a night with the girls?

Lost in her own thoughts, neither Ella nor Addy (who was still searching desperately for a menu; she was a growing girl, dammit!) noticed the presence looming behind them until a gruff throat-clearing had them jumping so violenting Addy nearly vaulted over the bartop.

'Can I 'elp?'

'Jesus bloody biscuits!' Addy clutched at her heart in a spectacular, if somewhat unintentional impression of Trevor the imperious shop assistant, as she gazed at the man standing before them.

The bald head and apparent lack of any teeth whatsoever clued her in immediately to who this must be, but Tom the Barman was very different in the flesh to how Addy had seen him portrayed. Rather than the hunched-over, sycophantic servant of the films, this Tom was broad and stocky, and looked like he could hold his own in a fight. He probably had, Addy realised. The Leaky Cauldron must have seen its fair share of bar brawls. He was also rather snappily dressed, Addy couldn't help noticing, in robes of pinstriped maroon and mustard (you do you Tom. You do you).

'Can I get you ladies anything?' Tom repeated, weathered face wrinkling in something like concern at the two girls who stood frozen before him.

'Er, yes. Yes, a table for two please?' Ella stammered out, embarrassed.

'And two butterbeers?' Addy tacked on hopefully.

'Of course, this way please ladies.'

Tom showed them to a table along the back wall, where he immediately summoned two butterbeers from behind the bar and placed them in front of the girls, followed by two glasses.

'Did you know this is the oldest pub in London?' Ella said, after Tom had left to place their food orders with the kitchen (there was no menu, as it turned out. One of the benefits of a magical pub, they did everything). Her eyes were sparkling in excitement as they took in the dimly lit interior.

'I read it on Wiki; apparently it was built in the 1500's by this witch, Daisy-something? Originally muggles could see it as well, but then when the International Statute of Secrecy was put into place they had to -'

'Hang fire right there my friend. As much as I'd love to hear more about your late-night dalliances with Wiki, I have a very important quest to complete.' Addy's sombre tone could not match the look of pure elation on her face as she brought the glass of butterbeer to her lips and, with the air of one drinking from the cup of life, took a sip.

'Well?' Ella asked, amused.

'Ella.' Addy's eyes widened as she smacked her lips together. 'I think I've found God.'

Ignoring her friend's stifled laughter, she took another sip and found her eyes closing in appreciation. The flavours danced along her tongue as the butterbeer warmed her throat from the inside. Caramel, chocolate, butterscotch - none of them quite fit. It was sweet, but not sickly; creamy, without being too heavy. The frothy layer at the top of the drink tingled slightly against her mouth as she took yet another sip. Butterbeer was officially Addy's new favourite drink.

'You know, I don't think I've ever seen you this happy.' Ella considered thoughtfully. 'Not even when Greggs* had that deal on. How many sausage rolls** did you buy again?'

'Twenty-six.' Addy replied, distracted. As she lifted her drink again, however, her eyes caught on something to her left.

It was an abandoned copy of the daily prophet, no doubt left by a previous customer. Addy reached across the aisle and snatched it up, a particular word on the front page holding her interest.

'Malfoy?' she gaped, unfolding the paper and glancing her eyes over the article.

ABRAXAS MALFOY DONATES FUNDS FOR NEW WING OF DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES.

Below the headline a very haughty, sharp-faced wizard glared out at them with a dismissive, aloof expression on his face; as if making front-page news was just another factor of his day, and barely the most interesting. With his pale hair and even paler skin contrasting severely with the black velvet of his robes, Draco Malfoy's grandfather cut a rather ominous figure.

'Damn.' Addy whistled. 'No wonder Draco was such a spinless git. Lucius is like a puppy compared to him.'

'Let me have a look.' Ella reached out for the paper, quickly scanning the article. ' 'Abraxas Malfoy, Order of Merlin First Class, yada yada yada … yesterday demonstrated the true entrepreneurial spirit of his noble house when he made a significant contribution to the ministry's planned expansion of the Department of Mysteries … A true pioneer of discovery' - Ha! More like a stuck-up aristocrat wanting to expand his influence at the ministry.' Ella began to hand the paper back to Addy before noticing a much smaller and altogether more interesting heading.

ATTACKS CONTINUE - MUGGLE DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE.

It was little more than a paragraph, detailing an increasing number of violent muggle killings, all suspected to have been carried out by witches and wizards. No names were provided, no warnings or indication that the attacks were being looking into. The whole article had a peculiar feel to it, squashed in between an advert for Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover and another that had been placed by a 'single, sensitive wizard seeking that special someone to share a cherry syrup and a conversation.'

'Addy, take a look at this -' Ella began, just as Tom returned with two laden, steaming plates of food.

'Steak and kidney pudding with extra roast potatoes,' he said as he placed the first plate in front of Addy. 'And the vegetable casserole with mash.' Ella sniffed the air appreciatively, stomach rumbling. She hadn't realised just how hungry she was.

'This looks amazing, thanks Tom.' Ella froze, realising that he had never actually given them his name. She needn't have worried, however, as just then the door to the pub banged open and Tom's attention, along with theirs, was suddenly riveted upon the new arrival.

'Hagrid my good man, how are you?' Tom walked swiftly up to the hairy half-giant and shook his hand good-naturedly.

Ella's eyes were so wide Addy was shocked they hadn't popped right out of her skull. Hagrid she mouthed helpfully, just in case the other girl hadn't realised who the eleven-foot tall behemoth with the bushy brown beard was. She herself was of course handling this all very well - and was absolutely not wanting to go jump on his back and demand a piggy-back ride.

'A'righ Tom? Been keepin' well?'

'Same as always, Hagrid, same as always. Usual?'

'Ta, and a bit o' water fer Fang if yeh would. Actually, if yeh could slip a bit o' brandy in it I wouldn't say no, just to calm him down. Been jumpin' round something fierce. It's all the people, see, got him all excited. Firs' time out and about.'

'I'll see what I can do.'

Just as Tom turned to go fill Hagrid's order, Addy felt a tiny furry missile collide with their table, sending food and butterbeer flying.

'What in the knobs- ?' Addy spluttered, attempting to wipe what was left off her drink from her eyes. She felt it dribble slowly down her chin and onto her lap. Her brief stint with Jesus was over. She looked up at Ella, about to comment on the bit of mashed potato stuck in her hair when she caught the look of pure adoration on her friend's face.

'Puppy!'

That certainly changed the game. Following Ella's gaze, Addy came face to face with the culprit. A little on the larger side, the baby boarhound was looking up at them with an adorably sheepish expression, head tilted to one side as his tail thump thumped on the flagstone ground. Ella immediately knelt on the ground before him, stroking his coal-black face as he licked the gravy from her sleeve.

'Fang! What've yeh done now yeh dozy dog!'

Hagrid ambled up to them, knocking over tables as he attempted to squeeze his massive frame up the narrow aisle.

'Bad Fang! I told yeh not to run off!' Hagrid turned to the two girls. 'I'm sorry, he's still on'y a puppy, I haven' had chance to train him up properly yet. Here, let me clean that for yeh.'

Before either of them could say anything Hagrid reached into his huge moleskin coat and pulled out one rather infamous pink flowery umbrella.

'Scourgify.'

As Hagrid pointed the umbrella at her, Addy felt the worst of the mess disappear. A layer of stickiness remained, and her clothes were still a little wet with butterbeer, but at least the food was gone. And she didn't have a pig's tail, which was always a bonus.

Plus, there was a puppy present, which was always ideal in her book.

Hagrid repeated the same for Ella, who said her thanks as she got to her feet, one hand still running through Fang's fur. He looked completely enamored with her, his tail nearly a blur as it whipped to and fro, tongue hanging out happily.

'Sorry 'bout that.' Hagrid repeated, looking embarrassed. 'It's his first trip into town, see. Get's all excited 'bout new people. I'll make sure to square it up with Tom, you girls won' have to pay for anything.'

'It's no problem.' Ella reassured him with a smile, finally managing to turn her attention away from Fang. 'I know how destructive puppies can be, believe me.'

'They're so cute they always get away with it. They're the ultimate master criminals.' Addy joked, taking the reins from Ella and giving a delighted Fang a much-needed belly rub. Dogs truly were excellent. She'd gotten over the shock of the Fang-grenade at this point and was now just appreciating the fact that she was having a conversation with Rubeus Hagrid while stroking Fang of all puppies.

'Still, I shoulda made sure he was trained properly before I took him out in public. I just felt bad for him, alone in me' cabin. Thought he'd like a change o' scenery.' Hagrid explained earnestly, before a look of dread came over his face. 'I don' know how I'm going to cope when school starts up again. All those students, it'll be a nigh'mare.'

'You've still got plenty of time, don't worry!' Addy replied, leaning up to pat him on the arm. Well, the wrist. The man was tall. 'Six weeks, and he'll be a stunt-dog extraordinaire!'

Hagrid perked up a bit at this. 'Yeh. Yeh, you might be righ'' He gave the two girls a crinkly-eyed smile. 'Bet you're both excited to be goin' back to Hogwarts an' all? Best place in the world, if yeh ask me.'

'Well…' Addy began, looking to Ella for help.

'We're not actually Hogwarts students.' Ella explained, thinking back to what they'd told Florean that morning. 'Our family travelled abroad a lot you see, so we never actually attended a proper wizarding school.'

'Not Hogwarts students?' Hagrid repeated, as if he wasn't sure what they could mean. 'But surely yeh parents must have known that Hogwarts was the best place for yeh?'

'I'm sure they did,' Ella hastened to think of a good enough reason. '...but they were awfully protective of us, didn't want us doing any magic unless we needed to. We don't even have wands' she finished, somewhat lamely. How on earth were they going to convince anyone? She wouldn't believe herself.

'Well that doesn' seem right to me, parents keepin' their children from gettin' a proper magical education. Not - not everyone gets a chance.' Hagrid's tone saddened as he clutched his umbrella a little closer. 'S'far as I'm concerned, and Professor Dumbledore as well, anyone who wants to learn should be able teh.'

Ella felt something stir in the pit of her stomach, her heart clenching painfully for the gentle giant before her. Hagrid had gone through so much in his life, and Hogwarts was the one place that he had always had a home, somewhere he belonged. Even getting expelled couldn't keep him away. A sense of hope began to grow within her, hope and something she couldn't quite explain.

'Hagrid…' She began slowly, hardly daring to believe what she was about to say. 'if we decided we wanted to go, to attend Hogwarts I mean, would we be able to do you think?' She felt Addy's eyes upon her. 'I mean, do you think it would be too late?'

Hagrid gave her a knowing look, sadness receding as he smiled down at them. 'If I know Dumbledore - an' I like to think I'm one o' the few people that can really say that - ' at this he puffed his chest out slightly 'then I know that he'd say it was never too late. S'long as you've got the talent, Hogwarts always has a place for you.'

Ella wasn't sure how to reply, a mixture of uncertainty and excitement bubbling within her. They couldn't. Surely they couldn't. Could they?

'Well.' Addy broke the silence after a while, sounding like she'd just been hit over the head with a bludger. 'This has certainly given us a lot to think about. Thank-you Fang.'

*Greggs is a chain bakery we have here in the UK. Frequented by schoolkids and penniless adults alike.

** The best thing you can buy from a Greggs. Hands down. Also, we realise, not widely known outside the UK. It's a savoury pastry with a sausage in the middle. What more do you want in life. I am also partial to a baguette though. The sandwiches aren't half bad, tis true.