Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the GENUIS J.K. Rowling. Now, I
wouldn't want to steal from you Jo-Anne, plus I have no money! So don't sue
me! However all original characters belong to me. So there :-P
A/N: Sorry I took me so long to update, there was a computer death, and winter. I was also working on my other story, on Fictionpress.com (Username: Stellamara). But it seems I've hit a block on that one, so I came back to this. Enjoy. Review. Please.
O
Ella's nostrils were under attack. A pungent, peppery smell was forcing her watering eyes open to search for the source. Ella opened one eye cautiously, and was met with darkness. She panicked for a moment, realizing she was lying in a bed, underneath some pleasantly rough sheets. Then she realized that she wasn't wearing the skirt and shirt anymore, she was wearing a pair of flannel pajamas. She sat up with a start, frightened, ready to fight off her kidnappers, and a sledgehammer assailed her brain. Ella moaned audibly and rolled onto her side, throwing the covers over her head. She opened her eyes again, and was met by darkness.
A door creaked open and Ella lay very still, hoping who ever it was wasn't an axe murderer. To her relief she heard a young female voice, belonging to someone about her own age.
"Bring it in here Ron, Carefully now, don't trip over the door frame." The voice hissed.
"Cor, Hermione, I'm not going to drop it, and beside it's just pepper- up potion! We could have bought some at the apothecary but noooo, you had to make it yourself! Why-"Ron was cut off by the voce that apparently belonged to someone named Hermione.
"You know very well, Ron Weasley that the pepper-up potion is going to be on our finals this year! And if it's not perfect, Snape will have our brains on toast for breakfast."
"Yeah," he retorted sarcastically. "Along with his morning mug of Hufflepuff blood, that is, after he finishes poking pins in his Harry voodoo doll." There was a clunk, and a large sloshing sound. "Bloody hell!"
"RON!" The girl screeched loudly, whereas their entire conversation before had been held in whispers.
Ella had had enough. Much to her regret she sat up again, and opened her eyes ignoring the pounding headache and the flat blackness. Flat blackness... Ella began to panic again. I'm blind! She thought to herself. Then the memories came flooding back, the mundane afternoon, her attack on Brandon, and the dark haired boy-
There was a whooshing noise, like curtains being thrown apart and Hermione spoke.
"Ella? Drink this." Ella could hear liquid sloshing as the drink was thrust towards her.
"I can't see! Where am I? How did I get here? WHO ARE YOU-"Ella nearly choked as a burning liquid was poured down her throat. She had no choice but to swallow. "What was that stuff?" Ella was terrified, what if these weren't teenagers? What if they were just insanely childish sounding kidnappers? Her internal dialogue was interrupted by a hand on her wrist. "Don't touch me." She snapped. The hand moved away.
"If you'll hold still, I'll fix your eyes for you." Hermione pleaded.
"Why should I? How do I know you're not going to poke them out!"
"If you want your sight back, shut up and let Hermione fix your eyes!" Ella ignored Ron and resolved to closing her mouth, clenching her fists, and shutting her eyes completely.
"This is bloody ridiculus. PETRIFICUS TOTALLUS"
It was the strangest sensation. Ella's whole body straightened out and her limbs snapped together. She tried to move and found that she was paralyzed. Her adrenaline began to pump, aided by the frantic screaming of Hermione.
"RON WEASLEY, HOW COULD YOU!? SHE'S PROBABLY TERRIFIED! SHE HAS NO IDEA WHERE SHE IS, OR HOW SHE GOT HERE! ALL SHE KNOWS IS THAT TWO STRANGE WIZARDS ARE POKING HER WITH WANDS TRYING TO FIX HER VARIOUS AILMENTS THAT SHE PROBABLY THINKS WE INFLICTED!" Hermione sounded truly furious with him.
"Stop hollering at me and fix her eyes so I can un-freeze her!" Ron snapped back. "Oh, right- Claresco! Finite incantantem!" Ella's vision cleared and her limbs regained the ability to move. She sat up in her bed. Two teenagers stared at her, waiting for a response. Ella slapped the redheaded boy. "ARRRGH!" To her surprise, Hermione began to laugh hysterically. She then turned to Ella, and held out her hand. "Hermione Granger." Hermione smiled warmly. You're at the Leaky Cauldron. Diagon Alley, London. This moron is Ron Weasley." "Thanks Hermione." Ron said sarcastically, rubbing his cheek. "I think you added a little too much boomslang to the pepper up potion. She's rather feisty." Ella chose to ignore this. "Ella Erodel." Ella smiled at Hermione, blatantly ignoring Ron. They seemed harmless enough. "What am I doing here?" Ella asked again. Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. Ron opened his mouth to speak, and Hermione shook her head slightly. "Well, when Harry gets back from his meeting with Hagrid we'll have a talk. Until then let's get something to eat." Ron grabbed Hermione by the arm and started pulling her towards the door. Ella stepped out of the bed and put her bare feet on the floor. "Uhh, I can't go anywhere dressed like this." She motioned at her attire. "Oh of course! Ron why don't you have something brought up for lunch, it's probably a better idea anyways. Hold on a minute, Ella." Hermione opened a trunk at the end of the other bed in the room, and pulled out a plaid skirt and a white button down shirt. Ron was still in the doorway, he sniggered when he saw the clothes. "Oh, shut up Ron. It's the only muggle clothes we're allowed at Hogwarts, and so it's all I brought with me! What am I supposed to do? Give her my dress robes to wear? Honestly...." Their bickering trailed off as the two slipped into the hallway and continued, muffled by the door. Ella donned the clothes Hermione had lent her wondering what robes they were talking about, and slipped into her sandals. She sat down on the edge of her bed and bit her lip. Her parents must be worried sick, and who was taking care of Eliza?! Ella stood up and walked over the mirror. She ran her fingers through her tousled hair straightening it out as good as possible. "Try a brush, sweetheart." Ella yelped and jumped backwards. It must have been and aftereffect of the, whatever it was that had been wrong with her... wait a minute Ella thought, Hermione said that was a potion I drank, and she fixed my eyes- with a spell? Ella turned back to the mirror. "Who are you?" She questioned it. "I'm your mirror." It answered. Ella was only slightly surprised this time.
"Oh." She replied. "Hermione..?" She called. The door flew open again.
"Yes?" Hermione bustled in followed by a rather sullen looking Ron.
"Why is my Mirror talking to me?" Hermione stopped and bit her lip again.
"Err, well perhaps you should ask Harry, he'll know-"
"Know what?" Hermione was cut off by a friendly voice in the doorway. The dark haired boy she had seen earlier was viewing the scene before him with amusement, his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a faded pair of jeans, and a sweater with a winged golden ball knitted into it. Odd, Ella thought. Hermione stopped wringing her hands and smiled.
"Harry! Perhaps we could explain to Ella what's going on?" Ella sighed.
"Yes, Perhaps?" She mimicked Hermione's British accent. Harry chuckled warmly and sat down. He reached into the desk under the talking mirror and pulled out a piece of blank parchment. He then extracted a thin wooden wand from his pocket. Ella's mouth dropped open slightly, and she raised her eyebrow.
"What, are you doing?" Ella was mystified. Harry grinned and tapped the parchment with his wand.
"Ostento Manifesto" a thin dot appeared on the parchment and spread outwards, creating letters, and a picture. Ella peered closer at it, and snatched it away from Harry.
"THAT'S ME!" She hollered. "Why do you have a picture of me? And, that's my address! My age! MY BIRTHDAY!?" Ella hugged the parchment to her chest. "Where did you get this information, why do you have it?" Harry took the parchment back form her and tapped it with his wand again.
"Obstergeo." Harry rolled it up and put it in his pocket. "I got it from your father." Ella laughed out loud.
"My father gave a bunch of British teenagers whom I don't even know a piece of parchment with very personal information about me on it? I highly doubt that." Harry shook his head and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Up until the age of eleven, I thought my parents had died in a car wreck. I was fed this lie by my aunt and uncle, whom I lived with at the time. They had taken care of me since I was a baby. Shortly before my eleventh birthday I began receiving letters, letters on parchment with scarlet wax seals. Ever received a letter like that?" Ella shook her head.
"No I-..." Ella thought for a moment, the day all this happened, there had been a letter. It was for her, in fact it was in her skirt pocket. "Wait a minute, I did. I haven't read it yet though."
"Well don't bother. We'll tell you what it says." Harry cleared his throat intentionally and drew a huge breath. Hermione sighed loudly and gave one of her favorite "honestly" 's, Ron sniggered. "Dear Ms. Erodel, You have been accepted to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry." Harry finished this statement with flourish, looking very pleased with himself. Ella stared at him with her right eyebrow raised.
"Witchcraft? So, you're telling me that magic does exist..." Hermione beamed at her.
"Yes it does!" Hermione pulled a thin wooden stick out of her pocket. Ron and Harry followed suit. "These are wands. This is what we channel our magic through. You'll be going to Hogwarts, Ella, where you'll be sorted into a house. After you're sorted you'll be receiving private instruction from all of our professors until you demonstrate the ability to join the rest of the sixth years in classes." Ron smirked.
"And knowing your lineage, that should be what, a week?" He shook with mirth at his own joke. Hermione smacked him, and hissed something in his ear. "Sorry, Hermione..." Ron looked sheepish.
"My lineage? But my parents aren't Wizards, are they?" Harry suddenly looked apprehensive.
"You're adopted aren't you Ella?"
"Yes, but... Do you know who my real parents are?" Ella began to shake slightly. She'd asked her parents before, but they had always claimed they didn't know.
"You see Ella, We all have great Destinies. Yours and mine intertwine. I have a mission to fulfill. Recently I found out that there's only one person who can help me directly. One person to help me fight my battle. A witch with power the wizarding world hasn't seen the likes of since Dumbledore. A witch as powerful as her father, and as smart and disciplined as her mother. The combined talents of these two created a child whose destiny was to help me overthrow Voldemort. You are that child, Ella." Ella was slightly in shock. Ron helped clear things up.
"Lets review. You're a witch. You're going to help Harry because it's your destiny, and Dumbledore is your father."
"Who's Dumbledore? And Voldemort, and wait, who's my mother?" All three of them shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Hermione spoke first.
"This is ridiculous. We'll be here all day explaining... ohh, Emancipo agnitio!" Ella's vision clouded over, and her mouth filled with a cottony sensation. Then she saw light, scarlet, green, yellow, and blue. The colors shot across her vision like lasers in a cheap arcade game. The lights swirled together and formed a ball of turbulent color, then it shot towards her at an astonishing speed. Right before her eyes the ball burst into a million little sparks. Her vision began to clear, leaving her head feeling as though it had been cracked open again. Ella was furious.
"NEXT TIME YOU'RE GOING TO CAST A SPELL ON ME, GIVE ME A LITTLE WARNING! AT LEAST GIVE ME A WAND SO I CAN CAST ONE BACK AT YOU NEXT TIME!" Hermione and Ron were stunned, while Harry chuckled softly to himself. Hermione suddenly snapped to attention.
"Oh! That reminds me, we have to let Dumbledore know that we've got her. Harry, you take Ella to Diagon alley for her supplies, and I'll take some floo powder to Hogwarts." Ron looked stricken.
"What about me?" Hermione looked at the ground, suddenly very interested in the hem of her robes. "Ron, you can stay here and help me...." She smiled slyly at him. "Review our latest information." Ron grinned from ear to ear and edged closer to Hermione. Harry turned a bit green around the edges and grabbed Ella's hand pulling her from the room.
"We'll just leave you two to your reviewing then." There was no answer as he shut the door behind them. Harry put his hands in his pockets and smiled at Ella. "Reviewing information... That's Hermione for: snogging Ron senseless" Ella made a face, and then she smiled back.
"I knew there was something going on between those two." Harry did an about face and began to march down the staircase behind him.
"Come on, we've got to get you a cauldron, school robes, some quills, ink, and a wand." Harry continued his stroll down the stairs with Ella trailing behind him. They entered a dimly lit pub at the bottom of the steps. Ella judged that it was mid afternoon by the gold light streaming in through the window and the straggle of people sitting in booths and at the bar. A few them nodded and some greeted Harry with a smile and a "Afternoon, Mr. Potter." Ella noticed that some people stared at him in awe, while others hung back in fright. Either way, everyone turned to look. Harry wen't up to the bar tender, who passed him two bottles of a creamy liquid, and two sandwiches rolled up in napkins.
"Thanks, Tom." Harry nodded politely at the older man. Tom smiled sat him and asked,
"Is this your last night then, Mr. Potter?" Harry shifted uncomfortabley and looked at his shoes. He muttered something about talking to Hermione and shook his head in no particular direction. "I'll keep your room open then, Who's this lass?" Harry brightened again and introduced Ella to the friendly bar keep.
"This is Ella Erodel, my friend and comrade." Harry put a definite emphasis on he word Comrade, and stared at Tom meaningfully. The Bar tenders eyes lit up and he leaned across the counter to have a better look at her. Ella smiled what she hoped was a courteous smile.
"Bless my soul! It is her! She's got her mother's eyes, just like you Harry, But she's got her fathers smile, this one, and the combined talents of them both, I reckon. Pleased to meet you Ms. Dumbledore." He reached across the bar and took her hand, kissing it gently. He reached under the counter and pulled out something wrapped in foil. He put it in her palm and closed her hand around it. He put his finger to his lips and whispered, "shhhhh." And he let them go with another friendly smile.
As Ella followed Harry out the back of the pub and into the alley behind it, she began to feel the events of the day wearing on her. She wasn't quite sure she believed in all this, maybe it was just a dream, and she'd wake up, lying in the field where she'd fought Brandon. And then it hit her.
Fought Brandon... she'd fought Brandon! Controlling a power she'd hadn't known she possessed. She was a witch. She was adopted, and her real father was this amazing wizard everyone was talking about. Where else could she have gotten this power? Ella's train of thought was interrupted, and she stood standing in awe, Harry beckoning her to walk through the hole in the wall that was slowly opening, forming an archway into a bustling street.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley." Harry smiled.
A/N: Sorry I took me so long to update, there was a computer death, and winter. I was also working on my other story, on Fictionpress.com (Username: Stellamara). But it seems I've hit a block on that one, so I came back to this. Enjoy. Review. Please.
O
Ella's nostrils were under attack. A pungent, peppery smell was forcing her watering eyes open to search for the source. Ella opened one eye cautiously, and was met with darkness. She panicked for a moment, realizing she was lying in a bed, underneath some pleasantly rough sheets. Then she realized that she wasn't wearing the skirt and shirt anymore, she was wearing a pair of flannel pajamas. She sat up with a start, frightened, ready to fight off her kidnappers, and a sledgehammer assailed her brain. Ella moaned audibly and rolled onto her side, throwing the covers over her head. She opened her eyes again, and was met by darkness.
A door creaked open and Ella lay very still, hoping who ever it was wasn't an axe murderer. To her relief she heard a young female voice, belonging to someone about her own age.
"Bring it in here Ron, Carefully now, don't trip over the door frame." The voice hissed.
"Cor, Hermione, I'm not going to drop it, and beside it's just pepper- up potion! We could have bought some at the apothecary but noooo, you had to make it yourself! Why-"Ron was cut off by the voce that apparently belonged to someone named Hermione.
"You know very well, Ron Weasley that the pepper-up potion is going to be on our finals this year! And if it's not perfect, Snape will have our brains on toast for breakfast."
"Yeah," he retorted sarcastically. "Along with his morning mug of Hufflepuff blood, that is, after he finishes poking pins in his Harry voodoo doll." There was a clunk, and a large sloshing sound. "Bloody hell!"
"RON!" The girl screeched loudly, whereas their entire conversation before had been held in whispers.
Ella had had enough. Much to her regret she sat up again, and opened her eyes ignoring the pounding headache and the flat blackness. Flat blackness... Ella began to panic again. I'm blind! She thought to herself. Then the memories came flooding back, the mundane afternoon, her attack on Brandon, and the dark haired boy-
There was a whooshing noise, like curtains being thrown apart and Hermione spoke.
"Ella? Drink this." Ella could hear liquid sloshing as the drink was thrust towards her.
"I can't see! Where am I? How did I get here? WHO ARE YOU-"Ella nearly choked as a burning liquid was poured down her throat. She had no choice but to swallow. "What was that stuff?" Ella was terrified, what if these weren't teenagers? What if they were just insanely childish sounding kidnappers? Her internal dialogue was interrupted by a hand on her wrist. "Don't touch me." She snapped. The hand moved away.
"If you'll hold still, I'll fix your eyes for you." Hermione pleaded.
"Why should I? How do I know you're not going to poke them out!"
"If you want your sight back, shut up and let Hermione fix your eyes!" Ella ignored Ron and resolved to closing her mouth, clenching her fists, and shutting her eyes completely.
"This is bloody ridiculus. PETRIFICUS TOTALLUS"
It was the strangest sensation. Ella's whole body straightened out and her limbs snapped together. She tried to move and found that she was paralyzed. Her adrenaline began to pump, aided by the frantic screaming of Hermione.
"RON WEASLEY, HOW COULD YOU!? SHE'S PROBABLY TERRIFIED! SHE HAS NO IDEA WHERE SHE IS, OR HOW SHE GOT HERE! ALL SHE KNOWS IS THAT TWO STRANGE WIZARDS ARE POKING HER WITH WANDS TRYING TO FIX HER VARIOUS AILMENTS THAT SHE PROBABLY THINKS WE INFLICTED!" Hermione sounded truly furious with him.
"Stop hollering at me and fix her eyes so I can un-freeze her!" Ron snapped back. "Oh, right- Claresco! Finite incantantem!" Ella's vision cleared and her limbs regained the ability to move. She sat up in her bed. Two teenagers stared at her, waiting for a response. Ella slapped the redheaded boy. "ARRRGH!" To her surprise, Hermione began to laugh hysterically. She then turned to Ella, and held out her hand. "Hermione Granger." Hermione smiled warmly. You're at the Leaky Cauldron. Diagon Alley, London. This moron is Ron Weasley." "Thanks Hermione." Ron said sarcastically, rubbing his cheek. "I think you added a little too much boomslang to the pepper up potion. She's rather feisty." Ella chose to ignore this. "Ella Erodel." Ella smiled at Hermione, blatantly ignoring Ron. They seemed harmless enough. "What am I doing here?" Ella asked again. Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. Ron opened his mouth to speak, and Hermione shook her head slightly. "Well, when Harry gets back from his meeting with Hagrid we'll have a talk. Until then let's get something to eat." Ron grabbed Hermione by the arm and started pulling her towards the door. Ella stepped out of the bed and put her bare feet on the floor. "Uhh, I can't go anywhere dressed like this." She motioned at her attire. "Oh of course! Ron why don't you have something brought up for lunch, it's probably a better idea anyways. Hold on a minute, Ella." Hermione opened a trunk at the end of the other bed in the room, and pulled out a plaid skirt and a white button down shirt. Ron was still in the doorway, he sniggered when he saw the clothes. "Oh, shut up Ron. It's the only muggle clothes we're allowed at Hogwarts, and so it's all I brought with me! What am I supposed to do? Give her my dress robes to wear? Honestly...." Their bickering trailed off as the two slipped into the hallway and continued, muffled by the door. Ella donned the clothes Hermione had lent her wondering what robes they were talking about, and slipped into her sandals. She sat down on the edge of her bed and bit her lip. Her parents must be worried sick, and who was taking care of Eliza?! Ella stood up and walked over the mirror. She ran her fingers through her tousled hair straightening it out as good as possible. "Try a brush, sweetheart." Ella yelped and jumped backwards. It must have been and aftereffect of the, whatever it was that had been wrong with her... wait a minute Ella thought, Hermione said that was a potion I drank, and she fixed my eyes- with a spell? Ella turned back to the mirror. "Who are you?" She questioned it. "I'm your mirror." It answered. Ella was only slightly surprised this time.
"Oh." She replied. "Hermione..?" She called. The door flew open again.
"Yes?" Hermione bustled in followed by a rather sullen looking Ron.
"Why is my Mirror talking to me?" Hermione stopped and bit her lip again.
"Err, well perhaps you should ask Harry, he'll know-"
"Know what?" Hermione was cut off by a friendly voice in the doorway. The dark haired boy she had seen earlier was viewing the scene before him with amusement, his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a faded pair of jeans, and a sweater with a winged golden ball knitted into it. Odd, Ella thought. Hermione stopped wringing her hands and smiled.
"Harry! Perhaps we could explain to Ella what's going on?" Ella sighed.
"Yes, Perhaps?" She mimicked Hermione's British accent. Harry chuckled warmly and sat down. He reached into the desk under the talking mirror and pulled out a piece of blank parchment. He then extracted a thin wooden wand from his pocket. Ella's mouth dropped open slightly, and she raised her eyebrow.
"What, are you doing?" Ella was mystified. Harry grinned and tapped the parchment with his wand.
"Ostento Manifesto" a thin dot appeared on the parchment and spread outwards, creating letters, and a picture. Ella peered closer at it, and snatched it away from Harry.
"THAT'S ME!" She hollered. "Why do you have a picture of me? And, that's my address! My age! MY BIRTHDAY!?" Ella hugged the parchment to her chest. "Where did you get this information, why do you have it?" Harry took the parchment back form her and tapped it with his wand again.
"Obstergeo." Harry rolled it up and put it in his pocket. "I got it from your father." Ella laughed out loud.
"My father gave a bunch of British teenagers whom I don't even know a piece of parchment with very personal information about me on it? I highly doubt that." Harry shook his head and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Up until the age of eleven, I thought my parents had died in a car wreck. I was fed this lie by my aunt and uncle, whom I lived with at the time. They had taken care of me since I was a baby. Shortly before my eleventh birthday I began receiving letters, letters on parchment with scarlet wax seals. Ever received a letter like that?" Ella shook her head.
"No I-..." Ella thought for a moment, the day all this happened, there had been a letter. It was for her, in fact it was in her skirt pocket. "Wait a minute, I did. I haven't read it yet though."
"Well don't bother. We'll tell you what it says." Harry cleared his throat intentionally and drew a huge breath. Hermione sighed loudly and gave one of her favorite "honestly" 's, Ron sniggered. "Dear Ms. Erodel, You have been accepted to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry." Harry finished this statement with flourish, looking very pleased with himself. Ella stared at him with her right eyebrow raised.
"Witchcraft? So, you're telling me that magic does exist..." Hermione beamed at her.
"Yes it does!" Hermione pulled a thin wooden stick out of her pocket. Ron and Harry followed suit. "These are wands. This is what we channel our magic through. You'll be going to Hogwarts, Ella, where you'll be sorted into a house. After you're sorted you'll be receiving private instruction from all of our professors until you demonstrate the ability to join the rest of the sixth years in classes." Ron smirked.
"And knowing your lineage, that should be what, a week?" He shook with mirth at his own joke. Hermione smacked him, and hissed something in his ear. "Sorry, Hermione..." Ron looked sheepish.
"My lineage? But my parents aren't Wizards, are they?" Harry suddenly looked apprehensive.
"You're adopted aren't you Ella?"
"Yes, but... Do you know who my real parents are?" Ella began to shake slightly. She'd asked her parents before, but they had always claimed they didn't know.
"You see Ella, We all have great Destinies. Yours and mine intertwine. I have a mission to fulfill. Recently I found out that there's only one person who can help me directly. One person to help me fight my battle. A witch with power the wizarding world hasn't seen the likes of since Dumbledore. A witch as powerful as her father, and as smart and disciplined as her mother. The combined talents of these two created a child whose destiny was to help me overthrow Voldemort. You are that child, Ella." Ella was slightly in shock. Ron helped clear things up.
"Lets review. You're a witch. You're going to help Harry because it's your destiny, and Dumbledore is your father."
"Who's Dumbledore? And Voldemort, and wait, who's my mother?" All three of them shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Hermione spoke first.
"This is ridiculous. We'll be here all day explaining... ohh, Emancipo agnitio!" Ella's vision clouded over, and her mouth filled with a cottony sensation. Then she saw light, scarlet, green, yellow, and blue. The colors shot across her vision like lasers in a cheap arcade game. The lights swirled together and formed a ball of turbulent color, then it shot towards her at an astonishing speed. Right before her eyes the ball burst into a million little sparks. Her vision began to clear, leaving her head feeling as though it had been cracked open again. Ella was furious.
"NEXT TIME YOU'RE GOING TO CAST A SPELL ON ME, GIVE ME A LITTLE WARNING! AT LEAST GIVE ME A WAND SO I CAN CAST ONE BACK AT YOU NEXT TIME!" Hermione and Ron were stunned, while Harry chuckled softly to himself. Hermione suddenly snapped to attention.
"Oh! That reminds me, we have to let Dumbledore know that we've got her. Harry, you take Ella to Diagon alley for her supplies, and I'll take some floo powder to Hogwarts." Ron looked stricken.
"What about me?" Hermione looked at the ground, suddenly very interested in the hem of her robes. "Ron, you can stay here and help me...." She smiled slyly at him. "Review our latest information." Ron grinned from ear to ear and edged closer to Hermione. Harry turned a bit green around the edges and grabbed Ella's hand pulling her from the room.
"We'll just leave you two to your reviewing then." There was no answer as he shut the door behind them. Harry put his hands in his pockets and smiled at Ella. "Reviewing information... That's Hermione for: snogging Ron senseless" Ella made a face, and then she smiled back.
"I knew there was something going on between those two." Harry did an about face and began to march down the staircase behind him.
"Come on, we've got to get you a cauldron, school robes, some quills, ink, and a wand." Harry continued his stroll down the stairs with Ella trailing behind him. They entered a dimly lit pub at the bottom of the steps. Ella judged that it was mid afternoon by the gold light streaming in through the window and the straggle of people sitting in booths and at the bar. A few them nodded and some greeted Harry with a smile and a "Afternoon, Mr. Potter." Ella noticed that some people stared at him in awe, while others hung back in fright. Either way, everyone turned to look. Harry wen't up to the bar tender, who passed him two bottles of a creamy liquid, and two sandwiches rolled up in napkins.
"Thanks, Tom." Harry nodded politely at the older man. Tom smiled sat him and asked,
"Is this your last night then, Mr. Potter?" Harry shifted uncomfortabley and looked at his shoes. He muttered something about talking to Hermione and shook his head in no particular direction. "I'll keep your room open then, Who's this lass?" Harry brightened again and introduced Ella to the friendly bar keep.
"This is Ella Erodel, my friend and comrade." Harry put a definite emphasis on he word Comrade, and stared at Tom meaningfully. The Bar tenders eyes lit up and he leaned across the counter to have a better look at her. Ella smiled what she hoped was a courteous smile.
"Bless my soul! It is her! She's got her mother's eyes, just like you Harry, But she's got her fathers smile, this one, and the combined talents of them both, I reckon. Pleased to meet you Ms. Dumbledore." He reached across the bar and took her hand, kissing it gently. He reached under the counter and pulled out something wrapped in foil. He put it in her palm and closed her hand around it. He put his finger to his lips and whispered, "shhhhh." And he let them go with another friendly smile.
As Ella followed Harry out the back of the pub and into the alley behind it, she began to feel the events of the day wearing on her. She wasn't quite sure she believed in all this, maybe it was just a dream, and she'd wake up, lying in the field where she'd fought Brandon. And then it hit her.
Fought Brandon... she'd fought Brandon! Controlling a power she'd hadn't known she possessed. She was a witch. She was adopted, and her real father was this amazing wizard everyone was talking about. Where else could she have gotten this power? Ella's train of thought was interrupted, and she stood standing in awe, Harry beckoning her to walk through the hole in the wall that was slowly opening, forming an archway into a bustling street.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley." Harry smiled.