Thanks again Stocktonwod- here's your update. Glad you like the plot Aaliyah-Charity. Keep reviewing, I want to see what you think!
Chapter 5: New Life: New School
"Education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten"
Professor B.F. Skinner
Ella had always been a logical and analytical thinker. She was good at Latin and French because they involved logical patterns of words; she was good at Maths because the number patterns were logical. History was also one of her fortes as was English as she was able to compute the facts in a logical manner and then analyse the fiction. Science, especially Chemistry, had always been where her heart was. Science was both logical and practical and she was able to analyse the results of her experiments.
Logic aside, she had been brought up a Christian, she attended mass weekly. Christianity, she knew, was not logical but she had seen programmes on television that had accounted for the existence of dinosaurs and such like in the Bible and was happy to at least believe that there was a heaven as science had not disproved that fact.
Magic was neither logical nor Christian and, as she entered the place she would now call home, the realisation hit her that she had entered a world that she did not believe existed. She wondered now how her step-parents, who were such devoted Christians, had allowed her to be taken away by people with such obviously Pagan views. She also wondered why she had left the logical world she knew without question. Maybe it was because she did know this world but had just forgotten it. She shook her head to rid herself of such perplexing thoughts.
As she looked around she saw, illuminated by the torchlight, the stones that proved to her that she was now in some kind of medieval castle. Judging by the damp on the walls she concluded that she must be in the dungeon but, oddly enough, it was warm inside. She had been inside castles before and they had always been bitterly cold, especially in the dungeons because there was no sunlight to heat them. If magic was capable of warming such a place then she thought she could get used to it.
When, however, she rounded a corner, she quite literally bumped into something that she did not think she could ever get used to. All she had seen was a slight silvery shine in front of her that, until it was too late, she had thought to be no more than a trick of the light. She had not so much bumped into but walked through the phosphorescent body in front of her. She felt a chill run down her spine and let out an involuntary scream which seemed to her to be coming from somewhere else. Her father, who had been leading the way, turned around quickly when he heard the noise. Concern was evident on his face as he looked at his now shaking daughter. He saw the Barron and knew at once what had happened. He cursed himself for not telling Ella that she was likely to encounter such things.
He rushed to her and held her in his arms as she sobbed into his robes. When she had calmed down slightly he addressed the ghost. "Bloody Barron this is my daughter Gabriella" he said curtly. "Ella" he addressed her far more softly, "this is the Barron; he is the ghost of Slytherin, the house of which I am head." He looked into her still tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you before; I totally forgot that you were not accustomed to such things."
Ella saw the hurt in her father's eyes at the thought of causing her pain. She hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek to let him know that he was forgiven. He returned the hug and stood up; he took hold of her hand and they walked off together at a much slower pace than they had previously.
The next morning as she followed her father to the Great Hall for breakfast she examined what she saw around her. As she entered one of the corridors in the main school she froze. She knew this corridor; how did she know this corridor? Her father turned around; she saw his dark hair, his pale skin and looked into his eyes. She finally understood. He was the man from her dream, how had she not figured it out earlier? That was why she had been so willing to leave with this stranger, because he wasn't a stranger at all. That must have been why her step-parents had allowed him to take her; she had explained about her dream to them and they must had put two and two together before she did. She mentally kicked herself for her stupidity.
"Ella?" Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and flung her arms around him. Confused, he returned her embrace. "Ella?" he questioned again.
"Can we go get breakfast now, I'm starving!" The girl spoke. Still perplexed but glad that his daughter appeared happy, Professor Severus Snape led the way.
When she entered the Great Hall she couldn't help but stop and look around in awe. Her father had given her 'Hogwart's: A History' to read the night before so that she wouldn't be as taken aback by the things she saw as she had that day. No book could have prepared her for the wanders that lay all around her in this room.
When Albus Dumbledore saw Ella he caught her eye and smiled gently at her. He then called for silence and the commotion in the hall ended at once.
"I will not keep you from your sumptuous breakfast for long" he motioned to the platters of uneaten food. "I wish to announce to you that we have a new student in our midst. Ella, would you come forward please."
All eyes tuned to see the tall slim girl walk down the centre of the hall escorted by Professor Snape. Several students noted the similarities between the girl and their intimidating teacher; they also noted that there was something different about Snape this morning. His eyes seemed slightly glazed and, could it be? Was he smiling?
Several of the students muttered amongst themselves but they soon quietened down when the headmaster raised his hands.
"Miss Gabriella Snape" the muttering began once again at the mention of her name "will be joining our fifth years and as such she must be sorted to see which house she will be placed in."
Ella had been told that she would be sorted. She had spent the night in her father's luxurious quarters but had been informed that she would spend the next night in her house common room. She had read all about the different houses, Griffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, which she knew that her father to be head of. She thought it would be nice to have her father as her head of house but knew that then he may be accused of preferential treatment towards her. She had no real preference as to what house she ended up it.
She sat on a stool and had an old hat placed on her head by the woman called McGonagall. The woman winked at her and Ella beamed back.
"Mmm, most interesting",the hat mused inside her head. "You are fiercely loyal and believe in fair play. You have also proved yourself beyond doubt to be patient. You would make an excellent Hufflepuff. Very interesting... I see you have a wonderfully keen mind and I can see your wit; you also have a fair degree of cunning, inherited from your father I shouldn't wonder... Your father would have made a fantastic Griffindor you know... He is brave and daring, as was your mother. Yes, I see your mother's traits in you as well. You feel the need to help others and are very compassionate. Very interesting indeed... I have to say I have rarely found anyone as difficult to place as you are, you would do well in all of the houses..."
The students began to chat again and the professors looked at each other in confusion. The sorting hat never took this long. Only Dumbledore seemed to know what was going on.
"Let's see if we can settle some inter-house rivalry shall we" the hat continued mischievously before shouting "GRIFFINDOR".
Several students gasped as did a few of the teachers; Snape's daughter, a Griffindor? Only those who knew Ella's mother and were aware of what Severus was really like were unfazed as Ella went to join her fellow students for breakfast.
Her father smiled. He knew his daughter would be a Griffindor. Contrary to popular belief he had never hated the members of that house; they just reminded him of his wife and what he could have been and this made him bitter.
Ella sat down next to a boy with messy dark hair. She was blushing from all of the attention she was receiving and the boy seemed to notice her discomfort.
"Hello Gabriella. My name is Harry Potter; this is Ron Weasley" he motioned to the red haired boy sitting opposite him. "And this is Hermione Granger. We are fifth years too."
"Please, call me Ella" the dark haired girl said. "I've heard all about you from my father."
The red haired boy groaned and Harry Potter looked hurt.
"Don't listen to what he says about us" he looked down at his food.
"Why should I not listen?" she asked, confused. "He said that you" she motioned at Hermione "were my main competition as far as brains were concerned." She blushed slightly "I'm not that clever, I think my father was over-exaggerating. He said that you were the smartest witch in your year. I couldn't hope to best you." Hermione's jaw dropped and she too blushed.
Ella continued. "Father said that you, Ron, could teach me a thing or two about wizard chess. I played chess in my old school you see and I love the game but I've never played the magical version. He said that you were the best chess player in the school." Ron's face went as red as his hair.
"As for you Harry, I suppose you were being modest when you said not to listen to what my father says." The boy looked shocked at the implication. "He said that you had faced Voldemort many times." She saw the looks on some of the students' faces and clasped a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry; I forgot that people don't like to hear his name. Harry has faced, You-know-who, is that better? Anyway, he said that you were incredibly brave and that I could learn a lot from you and that I should join something called the DA – whatever that is." She said the next in barely more than a whisper. "He also said that you have just lost your Godfather and you blame him. He said that you were right to blame him and that it was his fault. Was it his fault, Harry? Dad blames himself for a lot of things, he thinks it was his fault that mother died and that I was nearly killed. He says that it's his fault that I have to fulfil some kind of prophecy. Was your Godfather's death his fault, Harry?"
The boy could see the pain in her eyes but also the determination. Most of the things that she had said had been a shock to him and he had many questions for the girl. One step at a time, he thought. He had blamed Snape even though Dumbledore had said it wasn't his fault but he thought about it now, after hearing Ella's words, after seeing the pain in her eyes and thought about her father. How many times had the man saved his life and he had been too stubborn to see it? How many times had Snape tried to help him? He risked his life as Dumbledore's spy and how had he, the famous Harry Potter, repaid him? "No, it wasn't his fault" Harry said quietly. He thought about something Ella had said, his head snapped up and he said urgently "Ella what was it you said about fulfilling a prophecy?"
Ella thought about this for a moment before replying. "He said that I have a prophecy to fulfil. He said that they had thought the prophecy applied to you because they thought that I was dead. He said that I have to kill Voldemort." This time she didn't care that she had said his name, panic filled every crevasse of her mind and body, seeping through to her very soul.
"The man killed my mother. He tried to kill me when I was a baby after he had tried the same to you. He was weakened by you and went to find my father for a potion to help him. My father wasn't there. He killed my mother then turned on me. The man was undone and I was transported far from that place. My mother had placed a spell on me so my magic could not be seen; dad thought I was dead. I got very angry two days ago and smashed a test tube. The spell was broken and dad found me." She had told her story as if she was talking about someone else but now her detached speech became frightened. "I am supposed to defeat him but I don't know magic!"
Harry felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders but at the same time felt sorry for the girl who now had to shoulder the burden. Her story explained a lot about Snape; the way he was and his absence in resent days. He found himself feeling pity for both daughter and father and from the look on the faces of the people who had heard her story, they felt the same way.
Ella's first lesson was Potions with her father. She sat between Harry and Hermione and she found herself liking them both very much. When her father entered she couldn't help but smile at him and he smiled back. The class, even those Griffindors who had heard Ella's story, were taken aback by the fact he actually smiled. If the professor, however, noticed their surprise, he didn't show it.
"Today we are going to brew a potion called opposites trahere can anyone tell me what this potion does?" The class were also surprised by how softly he spoke. His velvety voice seemed to have lost its dangerous quality. Hermione put her hand up at once, as did a rather dubious Ella. When Hermione saw that Ella's hand was also in the air she put down her own. Snape saw this gesture and was curious. "Miss Granger, you had your hand up?"
"Yes sir" replied Hermione, amazed that he had actually acknowledged her. "I think that Ella should answer this one."
"That is very courteous of you Miss Granger, five points to Griffindor." There were gasps of surprise from the Griffindors' and outrage from the Slytherins'. Professor Snape carried on regardless.
"Miss, um, Ella..." He coughed seemingly unsure of how to address his daughter.
She replied "The name is Latin, it means 'Opposites Attract' so I assume that is what the potion does, makes opposites attract."
"Well deduced Ella, take another five points for Griffindor. We are indeed going to make a potion to make opposites attract."
"And what is the point of this exercise?" sneered a blond Slytherin.
"Would you kindly raise your hand before making a point Mr Malfoy?" Snape's voice turned to something the Griffindors were more accustomed to hearing directed towards them and this added to their surprise.
Draco Malfoy raised his hand reluctantly and repeated his question. Snape's voice was soft once again as he replied. "Five points to Slytherin for a valid question, three points from Slytherin for your earlier cheek, Mr Malfoy. The 'point' of this potion is to make two people with conflicting views see both sides of the argument. Instructions on page 528- pair up, then you may proceed."
Ella enjoyed this class, it was so like Chemistry. She assumed now that the reason she had always had a flare for the subject is because her father was so good at the magical equivalent. She was in awe of the respect her 'Dad' demanded with so little obvious effort.
By the end of the lesson even Neville Longbottom had produced a good potion and Snape told him to stay behind afterwards. Neville, who had been surprised by the fact that for the first time since he had begun Hogwarts Snape had not scared him, feared the worst when he was told to remain after class. Instead of being scolded however, the boy was apologized to, praised for his most recent potion and awarded ten points for his house.
Next Chapter: Pain- well, I did warn you it was going to get more angsty!
