Chapter 32: Alas, Home At Last

Ellie had never seen her parents look so overjoyed to see each other before. Her father had almost fainted when her and her mother walked through the door. Dennis had just stood there with his jaw dropped. Once all emotions had calmed down, Mrs. Richards was ready to tell her story.

She began to tell how several cloaked figures appeared out of thin air in the middle of the street, while she was on her coffee break. Some how, through all the commotion, she was knocked unconscious, and woke up in a strange cage like bubble with seven other people. She then painfully described how she watched each person, one by one, be dropped into the cauldron, only to be dumped out as a pile of bones. She began crying again, when she admitted her fear of never seeing her family again, and not having the chance to say good-bye.

Not once did Mrs. Richards mention Ellie's involvement, and Ellie didn't bother to mention it either. It would have only upset her father even more. Besides, Ellie was sure that even though her mother had seen it with her own eyes, she still didn't believe that her daughter performed a real magic spell.

Mr. Richards was the one who notified Scotland Yard about his wife's return. Only five minutes after the police arrived, the reporters showed up.

Again, Ellie stood in the background as her mother was pelted with questions such as, "How did you escape?", "Did you fear for your life?", and "Are you happy to be home?". Ellie thought that most of the answers would be extremely obvious, but the reporters asked anyways. Mrs. Richards, who looked very overwhelmed, did her best to answer every single question. It was 2:00am when the press had gone, and the Richards family finally went to bed.

The next morning Ellie watched the dozens of interviews of her mother, the Grangers and the other captive, whose name turned out to be Mike McNish.

The phone continuously rang throughout the day. Family, friends and neighbours, all wanted to talk to Karen Richards, the woman who survived the wizards spell. By early afternoon, Mrs. Richards had made arrangements to appear on the six o'clock news with the other surviving captives.

Ellie remained at home, while her parents and brother went to the television station. She would have liked to go, but she was worried that Mike McNish would recognize her from the cave, and then Ellie would have to reveal her side of the story. However, it had taken a lot more persuading than Ellie had anticipated. Her mother had been very understanding, but her father was adamant that they all go together as a family. Ellie firmly stood her ground, and after two hours of arguing, Mr. Richards finally gave in.

Ellie sat quietly on her bed, with her back flat against the wall, and an opened shoebox in her lap. The shoebox contained two Chocolate Frog cards, a half-eaten box of Berti-Bott's every flavoured beans, one liquorice wand, and the Galleon, Sickle and Knut she had put aside. Ellie had found these items in her coat pocket the day after she arrived home from Hogwarts. She stared blankly at the contents, her mind distracted by the memory of a boy with beautiful green eyes. As Ellie's mind continued to drift, another memory floated by. It was a memory that could have been very easily overlooked by Ellie in amongst vivid images of Harry. It was in the form of a very soft voice, no louder than a whisper.

"It's almost like you're suppose to be here…"

It was Hermione's voice, spoken in the girl's lavatory.

All thoughts of Harry were momentarily pushed aside, as Ellie became transfixed with this phrase. Was she really supposed to be there? And if so, for what purpose?

Harry! The answer came without hesitation. She was there for Harry. She had even saved his life. Soon the romantic thoughts of love at first sight, and soul mates discovering each other clouded her mind.

"How can anyone fall in love so fast?" Ellie asked her empty room.

Ellie did love Harry, and she didn't need the ability to perform a magic spell to tell her that. She could feel it in every bone in her body.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Ellie's heart jumped into her throat at the sudden noise. She looked over at her bedroom window and saw Hedwig perched on the ledge. Ellie quickly opened the window and Hedwig flew right in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Hedwig, but there wasn't any gunfire to announce your arrival." Ellie joked, as she untied the letter from the snowy owl's leg. At once, Hedwig flew out the window, not bothering to wait for a reply. Judging by the messy writing, Ellie could tell that Harry wrote this letter very hastily.

Dear Ellie,

What ever you do, don't watch any television, or listen to the radio. Also, you must not drink any tap water or eat anything that contains tap water. I don't have time to explain further. Just trust me.

Love Harry

Ellie stared blankly at the letter. It was such a strange warning; no television, radio or water. The first two didn't seem so bad since Ellie almost never listened to the radio, and seldom watched television. However, she wasn't sure how she would avoid water, or anything that contained water. What made it all worse was the fact that Harry didn't specify how long she would have to stay away from these things.

There was certainly no doubt in Ellie's mind why Harry would send such a cryptic letter. Every single mind in the muggle world was about to be obliviated. What better way to reach every single person in the world than through television, radio and the water supply. And if there was anyone who wouldn't be affected by those things, then they probably weren't even aware of the wizard crisis in the first place.

Ellie folded the letter and placed it in the shoebox with the rest of her magic world souvenirs.

The first day was tough for Ellie. She was very cautious with what she ate and drank. She even turned down a bowl of her mother's delicious homemade chicken noodle soup, which, of course, contained water. What surprised Ellie the most was how fast the memory erasing potions and charms were working. By Saturday, only a small, three-paragraph article about the wizard crisis could be found in the morning paper.

Soon Ellie found herself on a diet of nothing but cereal and milk, since it was the only food she trusted without hesitation. Fruit Loops for breakfast, Corn Pops for lunch, Cheerios for dinner, and if she felt like it, Lucky Charms for dessert. However, the weekend became worse when Ellie realized that the phone lines weren't working, leaving her no way to contact Jo. Even though her parents didn't talk about the events that occurred in the past week, Ellie noticed a definite change in their behavior. They seemed much more relaxed and less paranoid.

Curious on how thorough the magic world was about erasing the past, Ellie tried searching for Thursday morning's newspaper, which had the interview with her mother in it. She knew her mother had put a copy aside for memory sake, but it was nowhere to be found.

By the time Sunday came around there was no mention of wizards in the paper at all.

It was Sunday evening. Ellie had just finished her bowl of Cheerios, and had gone up to her bedroom, when she spotted Hedwig perched on her window ledge. She quickly opened the window and removed the letter from the owl's leg.

Dear Ellie

I'm sorry my last letter was so brief, but I wanted to make sure it would get to you in time. By now, you know that the water, television and radio waves were charmed with memory modifying spells. I'm sure you're wondering exactly what effect these charms have had on everyone. Only memories from the past week have been removed. Your family will still remember your cousin's death, but they have no knowledge of your mother being abducted. Even Hermione's parents don't remember being held captive.

The real reason I'm writing this letter is to let you know that the memory spells have been removed. I also wanted to make sure that you still remember me.

Please write back.

Love Harry

Ellie glanced up and saw that Hedwig had decided to stick around for a reply this time. She quickly rummaged through her desk drawer, and pulled out a pen and paper.

Dear Harry

Of course, I remember. How could I forget a great kisser like you? In fact, I remember everything very clearly. Just one of the perks of having a photographic memory. Thank you for sending a warning. I would never want to forget you.

It's strange though, since my mother has no recollection of what happened in the cave, I can almost convince myself that it was all a dream…well, more like a nightmare. I must admit, It's nice to see both of my parents so at ease. I think it's best that they don't remember anything, especially my mother.

I hope it's possible for us to continue writing letters to each other. After all, we've been through; it would be a shame if we didn't stay in touch.

Thank you for letting me keep my memories.

Love Ellie

Just as Ellie finished tying the letter to Hedwig's leg, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She quickly opened the window, and watched the snowy owl soar into the night sky.

There was a gentle knock at her door. Ellie quickly shoved Harry's letter into her desk drawer before saying, "come in".

Mrs. Richards poked her head into the room.

"The news just reported that all the schools will be re-opened tomorrow, so I want you in bed early tonight."

"Yes mum." Ellie smiled.

After her mother left, Ellie began to gather her schoolbooks excitedly. Tomorrow she would finally be able to talk to Jo.

Ellie was sitting in her usual seat on the bus, gazing blankly out the window. Her mind was still replaying her visit to Hogwarts and the events in the cave. It was as if she was stuck in the past, and couldn't get out. More importantly, she didn't want to get out.

"Ellie."

Ellie suddenly snapped out of her daze. Jo was standing in the aisle of the bus. It took Ellie a moment to realize that her book-bag was taking up Jo's seat.

"Sorry." Ellie apologized as she promptly moved her bag.

"Are you alright?" Jo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ellie replied with a bit of uncertainty in her voice. "I'm sorry I didn't call you. My phone wasn't working."

"I know. Everyone's phones weren't working." Jo said, as if it was common knowledge.

"Oh." Ellie replied sounding a bit surprised.

"So, what did you do all week?" Jo asked eagerly.

"Not too much really." Ellie answered nonchalantly.

"Well, you've had to have done something. I know the fog put a damper on doing much of anything but –"

"What fog?" Ellie interrupted.

Jo gave her an odd glare.

"You know…the fog!" Jo stressed.

Ellie still looked at her best friend blankly.

"That really thick stuff which prevented us from going to school this past week. The fog that defied all laws of probability and caused chaos in the meteorological society. The thickest and longest lasting fog ever to be recorded in London's history."

"Oh, right…that fog. How could I forget?" Ellie said quickly, trying not to let on that her recollection of the past week was severely different.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jo asked again. "Did something happen?"

Ellie looked Jo directly in the eye. It was at that very moment when she decided that she wouldn't tell Jo about the magic world.

It was obvious that the wizards went through a lot of trouble to make sure that their existence remained a secret. Besides, Jo probably wouldn't believe her anyways.

"I'm sure Jo. Everything is fine."