Chapter 31: A Magic They Knew Not
The entire cavern fell silent. All eyes were focused on Ellie.
"I thought she was a muggle!" Voldemort venomously spat.
"I-I thought…I was told…she..." Lucius stammered.
"Enough!" The Dark Lord commanded.
Ellie remained frozen, still holding Harry's wand, as Voldemort's cold red eyes narrowed in on her. After a moment of consideration, Voldemort spoke.
"She may be exactly what we need." He said icily. "Prepare the potion!"
"NO!" Mrs. Richards screamed in terror.
Lucius had only grabbed Ellie by the back of her neck, when several wizards apparated in the cave without warning. Various spells began to fly in every direction. The second Lucius loosened his grip Ellie ducked out of the way, and crawled to the edge of the cavern. She watched as the outnumbered Deatheaters vainly attempted to fight back.
A stray spell hit a spot on the cave wall just three feet above Ellie's head, creating a small avalanche of rubble. Ellie shielded her head as the tiny rocks fell on her.
"Ellie, are you alright?" Harry asked urgently, rushing to her side.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ellie replied, brushing the rock dust from her hair. "How are you? I thought he was going to kill you."
"I'm alright." Harry said dismissively.
Ellie glanced around the cavern, and saw that things were different.
The spells and hexes were no longer flying around. Dumbledore was standing in the center of the cavern, next to a group of bound Deatheaters, two of which were Lucius Malfoy, and Wormtail. Voldemort was nowhere in sight, nor was Bellatrix. The large bubble was also gone. Hermione and Ron, no longer tied up, were now walking towards Ellie and Harry.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"We're both fine." Harry replied.
"What exactly happened?" Ellie asked. "It all went by so fast."
"You mean after you hit Voldemort with a disarming charm?" Ron asked.
"How did you do it Ellie? Muggles aren't supposed to be able to do magic." Hermione stated.
"I don't know. I'm just a baffled as you are." Ellie replied.
"Well, the Order showed up and started capturing Deatheaters right, left and centre." Ron began. "Unfortunately, half of them disapparated, including Voldemort. I thought it was odd though. I figured he would have put up more of a fight."
"He wasn't ready." Harry said in a distant voice.
Ellie, Ron and Hermione all stared at him blankly.
"Is everyone alright over here?" A man with tattered robes and greying brown hair asked as he approached.
"Yes, we're fine Prof. Lupin."
"Ron, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a professor any more?"
"Sorry."
"And you must be Ellie." Lupin said extending his hand.
"I am." Ellie said, shaking the former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's hand. "Harry has told me a lot about you."
"Has he?" Lupin replied, glancing at Harry with a raised eyebrow.
"How did you even know where to find us?" Harry asked Lupin, trying to change the subject.
Lupin hesitated a bit before replying.
"A few months ago Dumbledore placed a locating charm on your wand Harry."
"A locating charm?" Harry asked, his tone sounding slightly upset.
"We were having difficulty predicting Voldemort's actions, and were worried that he might capture you, or lure you away from Hogwarts."
"Like he has in the past?" Harry said annoyed
"Harry, calm down." Hermione said sternly.
"All you had to do was use your wand once, and we would be able to locate your precise whereabouts." Lupin explained. "If you hadn't used your wand tonight, we wouldn't have had any idea even where to begin our search."
"But I didn't use my wand." Harry said earnestly.
"What do you mean?" Lupin asked in confusion.
Ellie suddenly realized that she was still holding Harry's wand in her hand, and promptly returned it to him.
Lupin's eyes quickly darted back and forth between Harry and Ellie.
"I thought she was a muggle." He finally stated.
"I am." Ellie replied, sounding a bit unsure of the answer.
"How is that even possible?" Lupin asked.
"I don't know, but I know someone who might." Harry commented, and began walking towards Dumbledore.
Ellie was about to follow him when someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a suffocating hug.
"I thought I was going to lose you!" Mrs. Richards sobbed.
"I missed you too mum." Ellie replied, hugging back.
Glancing over her mother's shoulder, Ellie saw that both Ron and Hermione were being embraced by both of their parents as well.
"Excuse me Mrs. Richards," Lupin intervened, "but there are mediwizards waiting to ensure that you're well enough to go home."
This was the perfect time for Ellie to join Harry in his conversation with Dumbledore. She glanced back and saw that they weren't finished yet.
"Ellie, you should probably come too." Lupin added.
"I'll be right there. I just have something to check first." Ellie said letting go of her mother. She was extremely anxious to get some answers.
Ellie turned around and found two figures blocking her path. It was the witch and wizard who had let her into Diagon Alley. Both of them had very stern expressions fixed on their faces.
"I see you've found your mother." Kingsley commented in a casual manner.
"Yes, I did." Ellie replied uneasily.
"Where is your little brother?" Tonks asked, with the same tone as Kingsley.
"You know, it's the strangest thing, it turns out I don't have one." Ellie said with a nervous chuckle.
The two Aurors simply continued to stare her down with narrowed eyes.
"Look, I'm sorry –"
"We know what you did." Kingsley interrupted.
"Quite frankly, if I was in your position, I would have done the exact same thing." Tonks winked.
Kingsley glared at her.
"Well, I would have." Tonks said defensively.
"Excuse me." Ellie said hastily.
Harry had finished his conversation with Dumbledore, and was now heading her way.
"So, what did he say?" Ellie anxiously asked.
"Let's talk over here." Harry said, pointing to a quiet corner of the cavern.
Ellie was taken off guard by Harry's calm demeanour. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad sign.
Once they were away from the rest of the action, Harry just stood quietly facing Ellie.
"What!?" Ellie asked impatiently. She felt like she was going to burst from the anticipation.
"There is an ancient magic that resides in all beings, including muggles." Harry began slowly. "Usually it's not powerful enough to perform magic spells, unless it's in its purest and truest form."
"I don't understand." Ellie said, baffled.
"It's actually the same magic that saved my life when I was a baby." Harry was now staring deep into Ellie's eyes.
Ellie could feel her knees begin to weaken, and the butterflies in her stomach became increasingly erratic.
"It's love Ellie." Harry finally blurted out. "You love me so much; it was strong enough to make a magic spell work."
Ellie suddenly felt her entire body go numb. She had never had her deepest emotions so exposed before. In fact, she hadn't even been aware of what her true feelings were for Harry until this very moment.
"And do you want to know something?" Harry asked, inching closer and taking Ellie's hand.
"What?" Ellie's voice squeaked from the overflow of butterflies.
"I love you too."
Harry pulled Ellie closer and tenderly kissed her on the lips. As nervous and elated as Ellie was, she somehow found the ability to kiss back. It wasn't awkward as some first kisses can be. To Ellie it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
It seemed like they had been kissing for an eternity, but when they finally pulled apart, both thought that the moment had ended too soon.
Movement from the corner of her eye suddenly disrupted her attention.
She turned to see that Harry and she had attracted a small audience.
Lupin had a blank expression on his face, not sure what to say. Dumbledore was smiling with his trademark twinkle in his eye. Ron had a big grin on his face, while Hermione was busy holding his hands apart, preventing him from applauding. Mrs. Richards stood quietly with her jaw gaping in shock.
"It's time to go." Dumbledore simply stated.
Harry gave a slight nod.
Ellie now found herself staring into the same brilliant green eyes she had fallen in love with at first sight.
"It's time for you to go home." Harry said softly.
Ellie tried her best to keep the tears back, but it was no use. She didn't want to leave Harry, but she also knew she couldn't stay with him.
Ellie gave Harry a final hug good bye before going to her mother. She had wanted to say something, but the lump in her throat prevented her from doing so.
"I have asked Mr. Weasley to make sure you both return home safely." Dumbledore informed Ellie and Mrs. Richards.
He then gestured a small wave to Mr. Weasley, who was standing on the other side of the cavern, talking to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Ellie noticed that Mrs. Weasley was taking care of explaining everything that happened to the other muggle captive.
When Mr. Weasley had reached them, Dumbledore handed him a grungy paper cup.
"How will we get home?" Mrs. Richards timidly asked.
"By this." Mr. Weasley replied, holding up the paper cup.
"I don't understand." Mrs. Richards said in confusion.
"Just grab hold and hang on tight." Ellie smiled, taking hold of a small portion of the rim with her thumb and forefinger.
Mrs. Richards hesitated before doing the same.
"We'll be landing in your backyard. Even though the muggle world knows about us, there's no point in startling anyone." Mr. Weasley winked. "And we have five seconds." He said, glancing at his watch.
"But I still don't understand how this thing is going to get us home." Mrs. Richards said, but just as she finished, Ellie felt the familiar sensation of being pulled forward by her navel.
The hard grass stopped them very abruptly. Both Ellie and her mother fell to the ground. Mr. Weasley, who had remained standing, helped them up.
"I don't think I liked that one bit." Mrs. Richards commented, holding her abdomen.
Ellie knew her mother had a weak stomach for thrill rides, which is why she didn't tell her how the portkey worked.
Mrs. Richards looked up at the back of her house, and began to weep. After the ordeal she had been through, Ellie didn't blame her. To have your life in jeopardy, believe that you'd never see your family again, without even a chance to say good-bye, and then suddenly find yourself standing in your own backyard; it would be an overwhelming experience for anyone.
"Are you going to be alright?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Yeah, we're going to be just fine." Ellie replied.
"Well, it was nice meeting the two of you." Mr. Weasley said politely. "I'm sorry it couldn't be under better circumstances."
"It was very nice to meet you too." Ellie smiled.
With a loud crack, Mr. Weasley vanished.
"Come on mum," Ellie said hugging her mother, "let's go inside."