…Animagus…
I lay on bed studying while Astoria plays with Serenity. I've been trying to train her to stay in the dorm but she's very stubborn. I sit up and stretch gaining both their attention. Pansy knocks on the door. "Draco wants to see you, Ellie." She informs. I jump up and head to the door. Serenity tries to follow but I motion for her to stay put.
I make my way to the common room and find Draco sitting in a corner. I sneak up behind him and throw my arms around him. "Down Ellie." He orders but he's smiling. I pout but walk around so he can see me. "What?" I frown. "You missed mail this morning. Your mum sent you this." he hands over a thick envelope. I squeal and open it excitedly. A few pictures fall out along with a letter. I scan the letter quickly eyes widening with every word. I pick the fallen photos up.
A banshee like scream leaves my open mouth. Draco clamps a hand over my mouth apologizing to the other students. I pat his hand and he uncovers my mouth. I dip my head in apology. I'm visibly shaking now. "Are you ok?" Pansy asks. "I'm going to be a big sister!" I squeal jumping around. I jump into Pansy's arms laughing.
I'm positively giddy all week. Snape is the only teacher who tries to calm me down, but my excitement is contagious, and he cracks a rare smile. I try to focus on my studies, but I can barely keep still. Draco still keeps watch over me and today he's dragging me to Quidditch practice with him. I pout and kick the ground much to Theo and Blaise's amusement.
I flop down into the stands and look up at the sky. Next year is my third year and I have to pick my extracurricular classes. I barely know what I want to do tomorrow. How am I supposed to pick new classes? I stuff the slip into my bag and start making bubbles with my wand. Pansy sits down next to me. "You are supposed to be working young lady." She teases. I smile and look up at the sky.
"I don't know what classes to sign up for next year." I frown. She holds her hand out and I pull the slip back out. For the next hour and a half, she helps me go through the list. She squishes my face between her hands. "If only you could know automatically what field you're going into little one." She teases. "What are you two doing?" Draco drops down next to us. "Ellie doesn't know what classes to take next year. What classes do you think fit her innocent personality?" Pansy turns my face to him.
"Uh, pet care, no, a childcare provider, no, a nanny." Draco smirks. He and Pansy burst out laughing. "This is serious you guys! I need help." I whine. They settle down after a few minutes and help me sort it out. Theo waves at Draco. "Time to go Ellie." Draco pulls me to my feet. We go down to meet Theo. "Flint says it's time to clear out jackasses." Theo announces. Draco sighs deeply and hands my bag to Pansy.
"Take Ellie back up to the castle." he orders. Theo jumps and takes off running. Draco tears after him while Blaise points and laughs. Pansy takes my hand and leads me out of the stand. "What does jackasses mean?" I ask. Pansy laughs nervously. I keep asking her all the way to my dorm. She shoves me inside gently and closes the door.
I pout, hit the door, and flop on my bed. Serenity makes her way over and lays beside me purring softly. I pet her until I fall asleep. Astoria wakes me for dinner, and I stumble along sleepily using her as a crutch. Draco smiles as I put my head on his shoulder. "Are you telling me that picking classes wore you out that much?" he teases. I nod. "Also, Pansy wouldn't tell me what jackass means." I frown.
Draco shoots Pansy a grateful smile. "You don't need to know what it means Ellie. Eat your food." He pinches my cheek. I yank away from him and start eating. "I just don't understand why you can't tell me." I grumble. Draco ruffles my hair playfully. "Don't be a brat, Ellie." He smirks. I mumble to myself all through dinner. I'm tired from all the studying and drift off on Draco's shoulder.
I wake to find Draco carrying me down to the common room. I tighten my arms and nod off on his shoulder. If I thought I was tired before it's nothing compared to the studying Draco makes me do. Theo and Blaise help me out of it once in a while when it looks like I'm going to pass out. As a treat for study so well they bring me sweets and butterbeer back from Hogsmeade.
I lounge in the common relaxing while the guys hit the showers. I get bored since exams are tomorrow. I slip out of the common room and castle unnoticed and walk the grounds for a bit trying to clear my head. Something catches my eyes racing through the tree line. I shuffle along and soon the creature appears. A small rather terrible looking rat scampers towards me. I capture it easily. I think about taking it to Madam Pomfrey since it looks so beat up but opt for Hagrid since he's an animal lover.
I lay on the grounds watching the sky giving my mind a break. The sound of someone shouting my name ruins my relaxation time. I groan and clamp my hands over my ears for good measure. I'm lifted into the air and carried inside. I remove my hands to find Draco lecturing me and put my hands back over my ears. I sigh in relief when he puts me down in the common room.
He stares at me waiting for an answer. "I didn't hear a word you just said." I confess without an ounce of shame. Blaise and Theo bursts out laughing and mimic the way I blocked the lecture. Draco is furious and starts chasing them. "Why are you chasing us? Ellie's the one who ignored you." Theo shouts dodging and diving. I watch in amusement.
The trio finally collapse on the floor, and I bend down to look at them. "What was the point of taking a shower if you were going to run around some more. Besides, Theo, look at me. Of course, Draco's not going to take his anger out on me. Ask yourself, 'Have I ever actually been angry at Ellie?'. It's pretty mind boggling." I smile innocently.
They awk at me but I ignore them as Astoria comes out for dinner. I jump on her back playfully and we gossip all the way to the Great Hall. the trio sit down still dumbstruck by my earlier words. "What happened to you three?" Pansy asks a note of concern in her voice. They point at me, and I wave back.
They start talking all at once and it takes Pansy several minutes to shut them up. "One at a time!" she huffs. They take turns telling her what happened and when they're done, she stares at me blankly. I hum to myself and sway back and forth. "Blaise, you found her when she got lost. You can babysit her for the rest of term because I can't." Draco announces. "Damn, Ellie took out some of the smartest third years in less than 10 minutes." Astoria giggles.
Draco shoots her a look, and she hides behind me. He doesn't stay mad long and focuses on his dinner. As soon as I'm full I go over to Lavender and catch up with her since I haven't talked to her in a week. Listening to her stories relaxes me and gets my mind off of my exams. Blaise must be behind me by the way Lavender and her friends get quiet. "Is my new official babysitter here?" I gasp. "Draco says it's time to go." Blaise picks me up and I wave bye to a very confused Lavender.
Blaise puts me down once we're well into the dungeons. "Wow, I almost forgot I had feet." I laugh. Blaise waves me forward and I frown at him. "Something on your mind?" he asks. "No, no not really." I turn and skip towards the common room. Blaise walks behind me shaking his head. "Why?" I ask stopping and placing my hands on his face to stop him. He looks generally confused by my actions.
"Why do we bake cookies and cook bacon?" I burst out laughing. Blaise picks me up and carries me all the way to the common room and places me at the foot of the stairs that lead up to the girls' dorms. "Bed. Now!" he points. I pout and stomp up the stairs grumbling to myself. "Jackass!" I yell slamming the dorm door shut. I flop onto my bed and get comfy.
Blaise has Theo watch me for the remainder of term and doesn't say a word to me. Draco pulls me into a compartment, and I sigh when I see Theo there with Blaise. I turn to leave but Theo pulls me over and sits me between him and Blaise. "I don't know what happened, but you need to apologize Ellie!" Theo nudges me. I suck my teeth and fold my arms.
"I'm sorry for calling you a jackass when I don't even know what it means." I grumble. Theo cracks up and Draco falls to the floor. "Draco get up. You're not supposed to lay on the floor." I scold. Draco turns to look at me and rolls his eyes. I turn to Blaise and poke his arm. "Am I forgiven?" I ask with puppy dog eyes. He turns to look at me and freezes when he sees the expression on my face.
He's visibly shaking, and I can tell he's trying hard to tear his eyes from mine. I lean closer and move to keep my face in his line of sight. "Draco get your cousin!" Blaise pleads. I hear Draco get up and wrap my arms around Blaise's waist. Draco and Blaise work together to peel me off. "No! He hasn't forgiven me yet!" I whine. "Fine! I forgive you. Now let go!" Blaise grumbles. I let him go and Draco pulls me to the opposite side.
I play with Serenity until we reach the station. I let out a happy squeal when I see my mum. I gather my things lightning fast and bolt from the compartment. I jump not the platform landing perfectly before the train slows to a stop. Mum hugs me tightly kissing the top of my head. "Silly girl jumping from moving trains." She laughs at heartwarming laugh. We hurriedly get my things and wave bye to everyone as we leave.
Dad is waiting for us at home, and I jump into his arms. "How's my little girl?" he asks carrying me inside. "I learned some new words, but Draco wouldn't let anyone tell me what they meant." I pout. Mum closes the door behind us. "What words?" she asks a note of worry in her voice. I tell them about this last term and the words I'd heard. Dad is rubbing his face by the end and mum is writing several letters.
Dad takes me in the kitchen and fixes me a quick snack while explaining why we don't use those words. I munch away on my snack while dad looks out the window. "Are you nervous about something?" I ask. He turns to me with a smile. "No, an old friend of mine is supposed to be dropping in for a visit soon is all." He chuckles. "Ooh, are they nice?" I wonder. "Extremely nice." Dad smiles.
The next day I help dad tidy up the house while mum naps. There's a knock on the door and dad goes to get it while I finish my lunch. I hear happy voices and laughing. "Ellie, come here. I want you to meet my friend. I do believe you know him already." Dad calls. I hop down from the counter where I was eating and make my way to the door.
I freeze when I see professor Lupin standing there smiling. "Ellie, this was the friend I was telling you about." Dad chuckles. I wave shyly. "Hello again Ellie." Lupin smiles. They go into the living room to talk, and I follow, lying on the floor listening quietly. mum wakes late in the afternoon when I'm prepping dinner. She watches me silently with a studious look on her face. "Narcissa sent me a letter. You had a hard time picking classes." she states. I nod with a sad smile.
"Pansy and Draco kept teasing saying there were no classes on adorableness." I scoff. Mum smiles and ruffles my hair. I sigh heavily and put the lid on the pot. "Choosing classes was too difficult." I pout. "Aww, it's ok. Isn't learning something new exciting though?" she puts a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Of course, it is, but when I asked for help, they suggested simple things like being a babysitter or pet care whatever that is. They didn't even take into account how smart I actually am. I even corrected several of Draco's reports keeping him in the top ten of his class but all anyone focuses on is how adorable I am." I grumble.
Mum stares at me with a kind smile as I turn back to the stove. "You sound just like your father." Mum laughs and goes to sit down at the table. I finish up dinner and set the table. Lupin joins us for dinner and the stories they tell from their school days makes me feel loads better. The talk turns to something serious and mum sends me up to bed.
I bathe and crawl into bed. Serenity curls up next to me and I fall into a deep sleep thanks to her purring. I spend the next week or two working on my homework and helping Kreacher in the garden. As soon as my letter with the requirements for my third year gets in mum has Kreacher take me to Diagon Alley. We meet up with Lavender and her parents there.
Lavender's parents look me up and down then whisper something to Kreacher who disappears instantly. I frown and point to where he disappeared. "You need some new clothes Ellie. We just sent him to tell your mother we'd be taking you to get some new clothes and will be bringing you back here in a few hours." My aunt smiles. I nod carefully examining my outfit. I had to borrow some of Lavender's old clothes because I'd outgrown mine and now, I was outgrowing the hand me downs.
They try to take me to some fancy schmancy store, but I head straight to the nearest thrift store. I find quite a lot of shirts and pants. Aunt Brown frowns when I place some old concert tees into the basket. "Could you please pick something that isn't from a concert or band?" she pleads. I pout but head over to another section where they have skirts and such.
I pick out several skirts, flats, low heels, and just because I can a few dresses. I got a bit curvier over the summer and I'm not the biggest fan of it, so Lavender helps me get some oversized t-shirts and hoodies. Aunt Brown sighs in defeat. We stop by Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour before meeting up with Kreacher.
I thank them and give them big hugs before we leave. Mum goes over my clothes with a scrutinous eye. She frowns and points to the skirts, dresses, and heels. I shrug in a 'I tried' fashion and mum sighs. She has me try on the outfits and her frown deepens when I come out in the baggy jeans and oversized shirt. I clasp my hands together silently pleading.
"Fine, but when you come home this winter break, we're cleaning out your closet and getting you some new clothes. something tells me these won't last you as long as the others did." She eyes the pajamas that I've nearly worn to rags with a frown. She snaps her fingers and Kreacher appears. He hurriedly takes the rags and disappears.
I put my clothes away and am combing my hair which has grown even longer when I hear a crash. I race downstairs and find mum sitting on the living room floor a smashed teacup next to her. Dad runs in from the garden. "Kreacher! Go get the healer." Dad orders. Dad picks mum up carries her to their room. There's a loud crack and Kreacher returns with a woman who I'm guessing from her uniform is the healer dad mentioned.
I watch as Kreacher leads her to the room. I pace the room biting my lip. It's been hours and no one has come out and said anything. I hear the door crack open and the sound of conversation. The Healer smiles at me then disappears. Dad steps out and waves me inside. "Come meet your siblings." He smiles. I walk shyly into the room.
Mum has two babies bundled up in her arms. A third lies in the crib fast asleep despite the cries of the other two. I make my over and mum nods for me to sit down on the bed. I do and dad sits down on the other side of me. Dad hands me the one that was in the crib, and I hold him gingerly. "That's Elijiah, this is Anya, and this is Regulus." Mother points them out.
Regulus and Elijiah have dad's curly black hair and mum's blue eyes. Anya is just like me with wavy honey blonde hair and grey eyes. Elijiah stirs in my arms and opens his piercing blue eyes. "Hi there." I whisper. Elijiah yawns and I hum softly until he falls back asleep. His tiny fist wraps around my finger and look up at mum. "He's so pretty!" I mouth with happy tear-filled eyes.
Kreacher has his hands full trying to keep the house clean while dad tries to keep the babies calm. The owl has just arrived with the morning post. I hand the paper over to mum and take Anya so she can read and eat in peace. Anya is very curious about the house I found. I put her on the counter and play with her while mum and dad finish breakfast.
Kreacher walks in tiredly with Elijiah and Regulus floating behind him. I smile and Anya points to Kreacher. "Kreacher, Anya wants to play too." I laugh. Kreacher shakes his head and keeps walking. Mum has gone completely still catching both mine and dad's attention. "The World Cup. There was trouble at the World Cup." She gasps. I pick up Anya and take her to the nursery upon dad's silent nod. Kreacher follows with the other two.
I play with all three until they're fast asleep. Serenity has been avoiding the triplets because they frighten her but mostly since the boys have a habit of grabbing her tail. I put them in their crib and tuck them in. Dad stands in the doorway watching me with a proud smile. I hurry to his side, and we walk into the garden. "Your mother has agreed to let you become an Animagus. You just have to do well in your classes this term, ok?" he ruffles my hair.
"I always do well in my classes." I scoff. Dad and I talk about my upcoming third year until mum comes out. "Are you guys going to be ok watching the three of them by yourselves?" I ask with uncertainty. "Of course. You have nothing to worry about. Just have fun this year and do your best ok?" she smiles. I nod and smile.
I wake early on September 1st. I drag my trunk, Serenity's cage, and my travel bag down to the front door. Dad is in the kitchen with Kreacher trying to cook breakfast. "Hey Ellie. Ready for your third year?" dad asks. I try for a nod, but I feel sick to my stomach. "You act like you have to go to Quidditch tryouts as soon as you get there." dad chuckles.
"I'm not that into Quidditch dad. Besides I don't know if they're changing the previous captain's rules or not." I gratefully accept the mug of tea Kreacher hands me. "The previous captain's rules?" dad asks with a raised eyebrow. "Ah, yes. It was Marcus Flint, wasn't it?" Mum asks as she walks in. I nod taking big gulps of tea. "His main rule was no girls are allowed to try out for Quidditch. Something about girls not being strong or tough enough for the sport." I shrug placing the empty mug in the sink.
Dad frowns and looks at mum. She shrugs too and sits down. "Well then maybe this year you should focus on making new friends who are nicer than Flint, but less coddled than Draco." Dad whispers in my ear. I smile and give him a thumbs up. We eat breakfast and mum loads my things in the car. I go to change out of my old worn pajamas and into a simple knee length circle skirt and a button-down shirt. I slide into a pair of flats then go say bye to baby brothers and sister.
I give them each a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Regulus clings to me and I know he knows that I'm going to be gone for a while. "Oh, geez. For Merlin's sake! Sirius, come help Ellie." Mum calls from the doorway. Dad helps me coax Regulus off and wave one last time before mum pulls me out the front door. I stare out the window all the way to the station.
"Don't worry Ellie. I'll send you lots of updates." Mum promises. I take my hair down from the braid it was in, and finger comb it. I shift the curls to one side letting them cascade down the front of my body. My hair nearly reaches my hips now, but mum won't let e cut it yet. I hug her desperately at the platform not wanting to let go. She laughs kissing the top of my head.
"Go on now Ellie. Be a big sister that your brothers and sister can be proud of." She nudges me toward the train. I take a deep breath and let go. I step onto the train waving then set off to find Astoria. I find her with a pale blonde girl with huge silvery eyes. "Hello there!" the girl smiles. I step into the compartment. "Hi, I'm Eleanor, but you can call me Ellie." I stretch my hand out. She shakes it with an open mouth.
Astoria turns slowly and shrieks. "Holy hell Ellie! I didn't recognize you!" she gapes spinning me around. I tilt my head in confusion and hear something crash behind me. Colin Creevey just tripped over Seamus Finnigan in the corridor. I gasp and bend down to help. "Are you ok?" I ask helping Colin to his feet. "Erm, yeah, I'm ok." he blushes. "I'm going to give you zero seconds to let Ellie's hand go." Draco growls.
Colin drops my hand and takes off down the corridor. "Not nice Draco. The poor boy tripped over something and fell. I was just helping him up." I complain helping Seamus to his feet. Draco growls and mutters but I cut him off with a frown. "Could you do me a favor and check on Colin? He seemed a bit out of it." I smile. Seamus blushes and nods taking off after Colin. I turn to Draco with a disappointed look on my face.
"Bad Draco!" I smack his forehead. Draco stares at me in shock as I rarely hit him. "Go. Shoo! I'm going to catch up with my friends. Say hi to Blaise and Theo for me." I shut the compartment door behind me. I listen diligently to Luna and Astoria's summer tales. When they ask about mine, I pull out the photos of my newborn siblings.
They fawn over them and laugh at goofy expressions. We're still talking about them when it's time to disembark and get into the carriages. "Ellie?!" Lavender calls. I turn on the platform wondering why she sounds so shocked. I wave as she makes her way through the crowd. People stare and I tilt my head. "Is something wrong?" I ask as she stops in front of me.
"I overheard Draco say you looked different. Had to come see for myself." She pants. "Do I look different?" I ask Astoria. Astoria opens her mouth to say something then closes it walking away. I let out a gasp. "Did you see the pictures of the babies mum sent?" I ask walking after Astoria. I show the pictures to Lav since she hasn't seen them.
At the feast people keep staring and it's confusing the hell out of me. "Please tell me that your mother packed you some ordinary clothes?" Draco growls. "I did. Mum wanted me to dress how I did on the platform every day but that seems tiring." I smirk. Draco puts his cutlery down and stares at me. "Listen here sassy…" Theo covers Draco's mouth keeping him from speaking.
"Now, now you two. You're not going to start off the year fighting, are you?" Pansy snickers. "I've saw Ellie when she was out shopping with Lavender and her parents. I'm pretty sure they packed her skirts, dresses, and heels." Astoria giggles. Draco spits his juice out. I hum and look off into corner pretending to be interested in the lanterns.
"No, no, and hell no!" he grumbles. I frown and turn back to Draco. "No one, not one person, said or did anything yet. Cool your jets." I order. "Did she not see the guys tripping over themselves earlier?" I hear Pansy ask Astoria in a whisper. I ignore this and keep my attention on Draco. "Do you not remember that 'note' Colin sent you last year that I found in your bag?" he mutters.
I put a finger to my lips and think. "No, not really. I was too busy trying to keep you from getting mad at me." I poke his arm. Draco rolls his eyes. I narrow my eyes and Blaise clears his throat. "Pansy has a point you know. At both the platform and the station guys were looking at you." He states. Draco shoots him a thankful smile. I glare at the both of them until they look down at their plates.
I meet up with some of my new classmates early Saturday morning for a group project. I signed up for music and art classes last year and I've been enjoying them immensely. Today my music class has a project to work on and waking early seems to be a big part of it. I yawn tiredly as I climb the multitude of stairs.
I wonder if it would kill them to pick a classroom somewhere between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw common rooms and that of the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. I'm early so I warm up with my usual group. I sit on top of one of the desks adjusting my knee length shirt dress. One of the Hufflepuffs hands me a flask of honey and lemon tea which I accept grateful someone remembered to bring some.
Last time someone forgot, and we had to quit practicing while a few people ran down to the kitchens. I'm all warmed up and swing my feet back and forth as we wait for the few stragglers to arrive. Practice begins and I walk around handing out each groups' assigned song. The professor never gives out simple projects. No, we have to translate and make our voices work together with the original composition and our classmates.
I get back to my group and we split the work. Translating is the hard part. Not every word translates perfectly, and it irks me. "Are you stuck on a word Ellie?" a Ravenclaw girl asks. I shake my head. "Just wishing everything could translate perfectly and the true beauty of the original lyrics won't get ruined." I sigh flipping through the papers assigned to me.
I look out the window watching the sun climb higher in the sky. A few Hufflepuffs offer to go down to the kitchens to grab everyone breakfast which we all accept. I place the translated papers down next to me and stare at the ceiling. "You're already done translating?" the Ravenclaw girl gasps. I nod. "I thought I was seeing thins but I was right. The professor went over certain sections of each piece in class during the first lesson." I point out the specific sections.
She gasps and checks her own work. The Hufflepuffs bring back breakfast with the help of a few house elves. It's a decent meal but the best part is the honey drink they made. It's a real-life saver since we'll be singing all day. My group is still translating so I hum the tune of the music to myself.
We don't finish until the afternoon. I wave as everyone starts to leave. Once the last person is gone, I clean up and sing for myself. For the upcoming Welcoming Feast, we're going to be singing and I want to be prepared. I'm so nervous it feels like my stomach is eating itself. I start to sing the songs we're to sing for the feast. I trace the lyrics and melody with my wand.
Ribbons of lyrics bounce along to melody so I can keep myself in check. I'm really into the music so I don't notice when someone slips into the room. I jump and turn to see Blaise sitting there a puzzled look on his face. "Did Draco send you?" I ask. He shakes his head. "I just heard singing and followed the voice. It's a lovely voice." He mumble s the last part, but I still hear him.
I smile and hop onto a desk. "Honestly I recognized the song. My mother used to sing it to me when I was younger." He looks down at the music my group translated and sang today. I watch him flip through the pages with a rare, relaxed smile. "You made a mistake in your translations." He chuckles. I hop up and hurry over. "No way!" I gasp leaning over him to check.
"No, I didn't." I complain. "I know I was just messing with you Ellie." He laughs. He turns to look at me and we both freeze our faces mere breaths away from each other. I can't bring myself to look away. We both lean closer until there's no space between us. the sound of passing people makes us jump apart. I stare out the window pretending to be lost in thought when in reality I'm trying to calm my racing heart.