Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Amelia Meets Ellie

Amelia felt nervous as she stood outside the Hogwarts gates, waiting for Professor McGonagall. She was excited to meet Claudia's daughter, but also fearful that Eleanora might ask her awkward questions about her father. She had promised Snape that she would not say anything.

Amelia was furious with Snape for his attitude towards his daughter. How could he possibly see her day after day and not want to say anything to her – especially as from the sounds of it the poor girl did not really have any kind of family.

The only time Amelia had ever seen Ellie was when she was five days old. Mr. and Mrs. Winterbourne were inconsolable at the loss of their daughter, but struggling to get by so they could take care of little Eleanora. Amelia had to go and see them after Claudia's death – Claudia had been her best friend and she was devastated by her sudden death. Amelia stayed with Claudia's parents for the funeral. She was asked to be Ellie's godmother and she agreed immediately, but before Ellie's christening could take place Mr. and Mrs. Winterbourne left their home abruptly with Ellie and left no contact information. Amelia later learned that the family had been threatened, and the Winterbournes had felt forced to go into hiding. Amelia was very sorry to lose contact with Ellie, but glad she was at least safe.

It was only when Amelia finally received Professor McGonagall's letter that she learned that Ellie's grandparents had died and that Claudia's former nanny was raising Ellie. Amelia had spent the last ten years of her life travelling around the world and she barely kept in contact with her parents, let alone anything else that was going on in the wizarding world. When she read Professor McGonagall's letter she felt compelled to come to Hogwarts immediately to see Ellie. She had wondered if Snape, whom she had heard was now teaching at Hogwarts, would guess anything, and before she came to Hogsmeade, she had debated with herself whether she should tell Snape or not if he was in the dark. She did not want to break the promise she made to Claudia not to tell Snape, but the circumstances were so different now. Claudia and her parents were dead – Ellie had no real family left.

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted Amelia's thoughts. Professor McGonagall was on the other side of the gates, walking towards her.

"Amelia! Glad you could come," she said as she tapped her wand at the gates and then opened them.

"Thank you Professor," Amelia replied as she stepped past her and into the grounds. Professor McGonagall shut the gates and tapped them with her wand again, and then the two women set off in the direction of the castle.

"Does Eleanora know I'm coming?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, I told her this morning. She's very excited about meeting you," Professor McGonagall told her.

Ellie was more than excited to hear that her mum's best friend was coming to Hogwarts to see her – she was absolutely ecstatic! She could barely contain herself for the rest of the morning. With no Jamie around to talk to she felt as if she would burst.

Ellie arrived at the Great Hall for lunch at the same time as Snape. She gave him a big grin in spite of herself as they walked in, before scooting off to take a seat at her table. Snape hoped that Amelia would keep her promise and not say anything to Ellie about her father's identity. He doubted Ellie would ever smile at him like that again if she knew. Not that he would want her to…

Professor McGonagall had to threaten Ellie with the loss of house points to get her to remain in the Entrance Hall when it was time to go and fetch Amelia at the gates. Ellie hopped from one foot to the other as she waited, unable to keep still. Snape hung around the Entrance Hall, curious to see this meeting himself. Ellie did not even realise he was there as he stayed back in the shadows.

When the doors of the Entrance Hall opened, Ellie found herself overcome with a sudden shyness. Professor McGonagall came through the door first, and Amelia followed. Professor McGonagall led Amelia over to Ellie, and introduced them.

"Eleanora Winterbourne, meet Amelia Ryan. Amelia Ryan – Eleanora Winterbourne."

"Hi!" Ellie said in a small voice.

Amelia gasped and held her hand over her mouth. Ellie looked so much like Claudia, it made her suddenly feel very sad that it was she who was getting to see this little girl and not Claudia herself.

"Hello," Amelia said to her, giving her a warm smile. Ellie smiled back – she liked this woman already!

"Would you mind if we take a walk?" Amelia asked Professor McGonagall.

"As long as Miss Winterbourne fetches her coat," Professor McGonagall replied in a stern voice, but Ellie saw the twinkle in her eye.

"I'll be back in a minute!" she cried, and dashed off up the staircase. While they were waiting, a faint crash could be heard, not from upstairs, but from one of the corridors leading off the Entrance Hall.

"Peeves!" a harsh voice could be heard shouting.

"Oh dear! You'll have to excuse me Amelia," Professor McGonagall said, and rushed off down the corridor. Snape, who had been observing everything, stepped out of the shadows, startling Amelia.

"Oh! Severus! I wish you'd warn me in future if you do something like that," she said.

"Well?" Snape asked.

"She looks so much like Claudia," Amelia said in amazement. "I don't know how you do it Severus," Amelia added.

"You will uphold our agreement, nonetheless?" Snape enquired. Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Yes Severus I will. I must strongly urge you however to thi…" she began, but Snape cut her off.

"That's all I need to know," he told her, and with a cold glare, he swept off down a corridor towards the dungeons.

"Odious man," Amelia muttered to herself.

"What did you say?"

Amelia swung around. Ellie was running down the last few steps of the wide staircase.

"Oh… nothing," Amelia told her.

"So, do you like Hogwarts?" Amelia asked as Ellie as they walked side by side through the grounds.

"Yeah, it's brilliant! I'm really glad I came here," Ellie replied.

"Do you like your teachers?" Amelia said.

"Yeah, pretty much. Well…" Ellie said, but stopped before finishing her sentence. She was going to say she didn't like Snape, but then remembered their encounter a few days ago; when he had seemed a lot mellower with her.

"Well…?" Amelia said, curious.

"It's nothing," Ellie told her.

They walked on in silence for a while, but then Ellie spoke.

"Did my mum like Hogwarts?"

Amelia smiled.

"Yes! She loved it. The castle, the grounds, Hogsmeade… everything. She was always happy here."

"What was she like?"

Amelia thought about this question before answering.

"Well, she was very smart. She always did well in her schoolwork. She used to help me out where she could. I don't think I would have passed my History of Magic OWL without her! That was her all over though – she was a very kind person. She always liked to give people a chance. She was a bit shy and quiet sometimes, but when she was with people she felt comfortable with, she was very passionate about her thoughts and her ideas. She was a wonderful friend."

"Do you miss her?"

"Everyday," Amelia admitted, looking wistful. They had stopped walking now, and Amelia stared down at the lake in the distance.

"Was Potions her worst subject?" Ellie asked suddenly.

Amelia looked surprised.

"Yes, how did you know that?" she enquired.

"Professor Snape said she wasn't any good at it. He helped her with it, didn't he?"

"Well, she wasn't bad, she was actually quite good at the subject compared to most - she just wasn't as good as she wanted to be. She wanted to be an Auror, and you needed top grades for that job. She begged Professor Slughorn for extra help. Severus was the best in the class, so Slughorn asked him to give her some extra help."

Ellie laughed to herself at the name "Severus". And she thought "Eleanora" was bad!

"Professor Snape made it sound like she was rubbish at Potions," Ellie said.

Amelia frowned.

"Well, she wasn't. Don't worry about what Severus says."

"You don't like Professor Snape, do you?" Ellie asked.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just the way your voice sounds when you talk about him," Ellie replied.

"Oh," Amelia said, sorry that Ellie had noticed it.

"Well, he was never my favourite person in the world," she admitted.

Amelia stayed to dinner that evening at Dumbledore's insistence. She and Snape avoided eye contact as much as possible.

Before she left that evening, she promised to come and see Ellie before she left Hogsmeade the next day.

Ellie went to bed with light heart that evening. Amelia had told her many wonderful stories about her mother, and Ellie was determined to ask her about her father when she came to see her the following morning.