Hey, everyone! Given that it has been nearly a decade since I published That Girl, I'm guessing a lot of those readers and reviewers have since disappeared… but I recently went back to read this little series and decided it was worth a redo. Ellie and her story brought me a lot of happiness back then, and I hope she'll bring you the same now. So I took another whack at it. Most of it will feel pretty similar to That Girl, but I tried to improve upon it, and this time I also hope to carry it past the point where I stopped updating before. Anyway, whether you read before or not, I hope you enjoy this new version. If you do, please comment away, and if not… well, try to keep the negative comments to yourself, as this is all just for fun!
Oh, and if you didn't read the old version - know that this will be a full, seven-book saga in one, following the story of Ellie, our protagonist, in her journey through Hogwarts.
BOOK ONE: The Philosopher's Stone
CHAPTER ONE: The Burrow
Ellie Bretherworth was being abandoned by her own mother, and she wasn't happy about it.
"Don't be so dramatic, Eleanor," sighed her mother, Serena, as she drove. "I'm hardly abandoning you."
Technically, Serena was right; she would have been more than happy to allow Ellie to continue living with her if Ellie had been willing to give up Hogwarts.
But giving up Hogwarts was not an option. Ever since the day Ellie had accidentally set fire to Paige Patterson's hair and Serena was forced to tell her the truth about magic, Ellie had desperately awaited the day that she would receive her Hogwarts letter in the mail.
"I just don't understand why I have to go and live with strangers," Ellie whined.
"We've been over this. If you're going to move away for nine months out of the year, then I'm going to start seriously pursuing my political career in the Muggle world. And anyway, spending the summer with a wizarding family will be a good way for you to dip your feet into the magical world before you dive all the way in."
Ellie sunk lower into her seat, reaching for her guitar and starting to strum. It was her oldest and fondest way of dealing with the stress that came from being a magical person in a non-magical world.
"It's not too late to change your mind, you know," Serena said. Her dark eyes scanned her daughter's grey ones with a hint of pity. "Hogwarts is dangerous, Ellie. You'll be safer with me."
But that only made Ellie strum louder.
About an hour later, Serena parked the Lexus at their destination—a tall, crooked house called the Burrow that looked like it might collapse at any given moment.
"Bloody hell," Serena muttered as she stared up at the house through the windshield. "Doesn't exactly look safe, does it?"
"Well," Ellie said grimly as she put her guitar back in its case and stepped out of the car, "you did say the wizarding world was dangerous."
Serena made a face at that as she, too, stepped out of the car. But neither of them had the chance to comment further before a horde of redheads emerged from the front door.
"Oh, welcome, welcome!" exclaimed a plump, rosy-cheeked woman at the front of the pack—clearly the mother of the family. "So glad to see you made it safely."
"And in such a fine contraption!" gushed the father of the family, a tall, thin, balding man, eyeing the Lexus with admiration. "Tell me—does it fly?"
Serena snorted at that, then quickly covered it up with a cough. "I'm afraid not. As I told you via letter, I haven't practiced magic in years."
Ellie didn't know the details of Serena's correspondence with the family, but she knew the basics: Serena had written back to Hogwarts asking if they could refer her to a wizarding family who could host Ellie for the summer in exchange for a large sum of money, and Hogwarts referred her to, well… this family.
"You must be Eleanor," the woman said to Ellie, beaming at her. "What a lovely young girl you are—and just a year older than Ginny!"
Ellie followed the woman's gaze to the only female child of the group, who was smiling shyly at her.
"Hi," Ellie said awkwardly to the girl. She glanced back at Molly and said, "Call me Ellie. Please. If you don't mind."
"Ellie it is," the woman said warmly. "I'm Molly, and this is my husband Arthur, and our children—Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy."
Ellie scanned the children thoughtfully. Ron looked to be about the same age as her, and not particularly thrilled about having a new roommate. Fred and George, who were as identical as twins could be, looked to be a few years older than her, and much more excited about having a new face in their home. Percy, the eldest, seemed to wear a permanent sneer on his face, as if he were sucking on an invisible lemon.
Ellie tucked a strand of her long, dark hair behind her cheek, feeling strangely self-conscious about not having red hair like the rest of them.
"We've got two more sons, as well," said Arthur, "but they're grown now, and off making names for themselves."
"How nice," said Serena, who already sounded like she was ready to go. "I think Ellie's very tired from the journey. Would you mind if we go ahead and get her settled in?"
"Of course," said Molly, blushing. "Boys, go and grab Ellie's things from the car. Serena, Ellie—follow me."
The Burrow didn't look any less rickety on the inside, but it certainly captured Ellie's attention. Everywhere she looked, something was enchanted, from the giant clock whose hands were spoons with the Weasley family's names on them to the self-washing dishes.
"It's not much, I know," said Molly when she saw Ellie and Serena's expressions. "Ellie will have to share a room with Ginny, but—"
"It's incredible," Ellie interrupted as her eyes landed on a painting of a herd of horses, all of which galloped and danced right there on the canvas.
"Incredible," agreed Serena, whose thin, pointed nose was wrinkled. She seemed to have a different definition of the term than her daughter. "Might we go on up to see the bedroom?"
Ellie shot her mother a pointed look at that; Serena was hardly being subtle about wanting to get out of there. But Molly just gushed an "of course, of course" and led them up the stairs.
"Ginny won't be starting Hogwarts until next year," Molly explained as they walked, "but I'm sure the girls will become fast friends."
Ellie glanced behind her to see that Ginny was the only one following them up the stairs; the rest of the family seemed to be conglomerating at the table. She was glad for that; having seven redheads following her everywhere was a bit much.
The room was small, but cozy. Even here, hints of magic were everywhere, from the moving artwork on the walls to the self-fluffing pillows on the two beds.
"Lovely," said Serena, whose nose was still a bit wrinkled. She glanced at her daughter and offered her a tight smile. "What do you think, Ellie?"
Ellie still didn't love that her mother was leaving her with strangers, but she was starting to accept that her mother had been right about one thing: this was the perfect way to dip her feet into the magical world.
Serena left shortly after seeing the bedroom. She wasn't the hugging type, but she did put a stiff arm around her daughter's shoulders and squeeze. And then, just like that, she was gone.
"Wow," said one of the twins as they listened to the sound of the Lexus driving away. He glanced at Ellie and asked, "She always so warm and fuzzy?"
"Fred!" scolded Molly, but Ellie only laughed.
"She's not exactly fond of magic," she explained. "Bit of a long story."
The look that Molly and Arthur shared suggested to Ellie that they might already know the story of her father's arrest, but neither of them mentioned it. Instead, Molly said, "You must be starving. I'll go and whip something up."
"I'll help," said Arthur, and with that, the two of them disappeared into the kitchen.
"We'll go and take all this upstairs," said Percy, nudging Ron. The two of them reached for Ellie's luggage and guitar case, then took them upstairs, leaving just Ellie, Ginny, and the twins in the living room.
"I want to know the long story," said Fred, taking a seat on the couch and propping his feet up on the table. "What witch in her right mind doesn't like magic?"
Ellie glanced hesitantly at the other two, who looked just as eager to hear her answer, before reluctantly taking a seat in the armchair across from Fred. As the other two also took their seats, she explained, "My father got sent off to Azkaban when I was a baby. She blames dark magic for having influenced him and ruined her life."
"Ruined her life?" repeated Ginny. "You mean, because her husband was arrested?"
Ellie parted her lips to answer that question, but she wasn't sure how. The truth was, Serena had never wanted Ellie. She had gotten pregnant when she was still a student at Hogwarts, and Ellie's father, who was twenty at the time, had taken Ellie to raise her on his own without Serena. It wasn't until he was arrested that Serena was forced to take Ellie back—and sacrifice her own career and goals in the process.
But that seemed like a lot to share with virtual strangers.
"It's okay," said Fred, seeming to sense her hesitation. "We have all summer to figure you out, mystery girl."
Ellie was surprised to find that she liked the sound of that.
