Chapter 9: Through The Fireplace
Ellie watched the arm full of parcels scattered to the ground.
"I'm so sorry!" She apologized, and stooped down to help gather the woman's purchases. Ellie couldn't believe her clumsiness.
"It's alright dearie, no harm done." The woman said kindly. "But I think it would be much faster if we gathered them this way."
The woman then reached into her front pocket and drew out what was unmistakably a magic wand. With a simple flick, the bags and parcels magically appeared in a small pile in front of the plump woman.
"I truly am sorry." Ellie apologized again, trying to mask her astonishment.
"Don't worry yourself dear. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going either." The woman smiled. "But I do need some help getting these packages back into my arms."
"Oh, of course." Ellie said quickly and picked up several bags to hang on the woman's outstretched arms.
"Why aren't you at school?" The woman suddenly asked, throwing Ellie a suspicious glare.
"Today is Saturday." Ellie curiously replied, handing the woman a square package.
"I know that, but it takes almost a full day to travel from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley, and you look far too young to apperate."
Hogwarts? Diagon Alley? Apperate? What was this woman going on about?
The red haired woman continued to stare at Ellie expecting an answer. Much to Ellie's luck, a man with red thinning hair and glasses approached the woman.
"Molly, are you alright?" He asked in concern.
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine Arthur." She replied.
Ellie saw this diversion as the perfect time for her to get away. She picked up the final bundle of parcels and handed them to the woman.
"Well I should really get going. I'm already late as it is." Ellie lied, glancing at her wrist watch. "Again, I apologize." And she abruptly turned from the couple and headed back to the brick wall.
Ellie went from a casual walk to a light jog when she heard the woman's voice in the distance, "Come back! You didn't answer my question!"
Finally Ellie arrived at the brick wall entrance, but to her dismay it was still a brick wall.
"What am I going to do?" She desperately thought to herself.
She couldn't wait by the wall because it would arouse too much suspicion. And what if the plump red headed lady came looking for her?
After frantically looking around for a solution, Ellie decided on waiting in the Apothecary. She could pretend to be shopping while keeping an eye on the brick wall from the store front window.
The strong putrid smell of rotting eggs and cabbage overwhelmed Ellie the second she entered the store. If it wasn't for the fascinating contents of the various jars and barrels, she would have left immediately. Shrivelfig, rat spleens, wormwood, graphorn, gillyweed; she read each labelled jar carefully and wondered what purpose these strange ingredients served. Suddenly a pair of voices caught Ellie's attention. They were coming from behind a half open door behind the store cash counter.
"We're running low on Asphodel. I need you to pickup a shipment." A high crisp voice spoke.
"What? Now?" A second voice lazily replied. It was a deeper voice than the first, but it sounded younger.
"Yes, now! It'll only take you thirty seconds." The first voice said sternly.
"Alright." The second person reluctantly agreed.
Ellie moved along the counter until she was in a position where she could see through the partially opened door.
Two men were standing in a room full of creates and boxes. One man had short brown hair, and looked to be in his mid twenties, while the other had light pepper hair and appeared to be in his early fifties. There was one odd thing Ellie noticed about the room the two men were standing in. It had a very tall fireplace with a roaring fire. Store storage rooms don't have fireplaces in them, especially with an actual fire. Wasn't there a fire code to follow?
"Go ask Gus if he has any extra stock we can buy off him." The elder man ordered.
"Alright." The younger man droned.
Then in a matter of seconds, Ellie witnessed something that she had never even read about in the hundreds of fiction books she owned.
The younger man grabbed a handful of some sort of strange glittering powder that was in a jar on top of the mantel, and threw it into the fire. The flames rose high, and turned an emerald green. Next, the man stepped into the fireplace, directly into the flames, and said "Hogsmeade". In a split second the man had vanished, and the fire had returned to its original form.
Ellie stood with her mouth gaping open. The elder man didn't seem to find anything extraordinary about what just occurred. He was much more interested in the news paper he was holding. The shop was very quiet. Just as Ellie was about to turn away, the fire shot back up into the green colour, and the young man appeared with three square crates that were stacked as high as he was tall.
"There are three more boxes to come." The younger man informed the elder, as they both moved the crates out of the fireplace. The man threw another handful of the glittering powder into the fire and stepped into the flames as he had done before.
"Its some type of magic portal!" Ellie thought in revelation.
Suddenly remembering that she should be keeping an eye on the brick wall, Ellie turned towards the store window. The archway still wasn't there, but Ellie saw something very alarming. The plump red haired woman was about to enter the Apothecary. Ellie quickly ducked behind a barrel of leeches.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" The woman asked loudly, as the door shut behind her.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Weasley!" The elder man greeted as he came out of the back storage room. "What can I do for you today?"
"Just running low on a few things." She replied, handing the man a list.
The younger man emerged from the storage room, and began to refill some of the half empty jars on the shelves.
Ellie remained crouched in her hiding spot. The last thing she needed was to be questioned again by the woman, and there was no way for her to get out of the store without being stopped. The elder man stepped out from behind the counter and began helping the woman find the items she needed. They seemed to be making their way closer to the barrel of leeches, and Ellie feared that she would soon be discovered.
Now feeling very panicked, Ellie frantically began to think of a way out, when her eyes abruptly fixed themselves on the half opened door leading to the back room.
"What if I'm not supposed to go back through the brick wall?" Ellie thought. "Maybe the only way out is through the fireplace."
It did make a lot of sense. Ellie hadn't seen the brick wall turn into an archway since she went through it. Somehow everyone seemed to come and go on their own, and the only time she had witnessed someone leaving was through the fireplace.
Seeing that the plump woman and elder man were now only five feet away, Ellie, still in a crouched position, dashed behind the cash counter and made it through the door without being noticed. She slowly stood up and carefully examined the tall fireplace for a moment. It certainly looked like a normal fireplace. Ellie then took a handful of the glittering powder from the jar and threw it into the fire. Immediately the flames turned emerald green and rose as high as Ellie's chest. Ellie stared mesmerized at the flames. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her palms were sweaty.
"Its alright, they wont burn you." She continually told herself over and over.
Finally, Ellie closed her eyes and stepped forward. She then opened her eyes a crack to ensure that she was actually standing in amongst the flames. Sure enough, she was. The green flames didn't burn at all; instead they felt like a warm breeze against Ellie's skin.
"And now for the magic word." Ellie thought to herself.
She opened her mouth and in a clear voice said, "Hogsmeade!"