AN: Here I am again, what can I say. Here it is, and it's finally starting to pick up. I won't give anything away. Read it! plz. I'll be in Toronto for the rest of the week/weekend. And then it's my Birthday this weekend. So I probably won't get around to updating for the next week or so. But I'll try. No more seven month gaps in my work.
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter three
The Meeting
The door opened. El had never met a man so … that looked like him. The man's black hair was stringy and slick, his long crooked nose seemed to take over his face and his black little eyes seemed to glitter with extreme dislike. El didn't like him. He looked sneaky and he obviously didn't like either her or Harry.
"I'm sorry Potter," The man sneered, "but only Ms. Elizabeth Turner has been invited to this particular meeting."
El bristled at the man's arrogant tone. "Well, too bad. It's a two for one deal." El grabbed Harry's hand and quickly slipped them both past the jerk. "Who the hell was he?"
"Professor Snape," Harry muttered. It was obvious that he disliked the man as much as the man disliked him. Snape … she stored his name away in the back of her mind, adding to the ever growing list.
The room they had entered had only minutes ago been a kitchen, but no longer. The table had disappeared. Instead there was a gathering of chairs made into a circle. There were so many people; there were two lines of seats making up the circle. El felt awkward. As she and Harry walked into the middle of the circle, everyone was quiet. Everyone stared. Sirius gave a little wink as she passed him, and she gave him a feeble smile. He was an alright kind of guy. So was Lupin, who had also given her an encouraging smile. A single seat was stationed in the center of the circle. One in which she presumed she must sit.
Dumbledore stood waiting at the center as well. His eyes twinkled merrily when he noticed Harry. And quickly made an extra seat available beside Sirius. El stared at the chair which had just materialized out of thin air. There was no way she would ever get used to magic. She didn't know what to expect.
Harry gave her a look, clearly asking if it was okay that he left her to sit besides Sirius and Lupin. El nodded slightly. It would do no good to make a fuss over it, but she dearly wanted him to stay with her. She hadn't left his side since she arrived.
Taking a deep breathe she nervously ran her hands up and down the jeans as she sat down. Dumbledore smiled kindly at her, but it did nothing to calm her nerves. "Today, we are here to make sure you are truly Elizabeth Turner. Would you agree to veritaserum?" El looked at him for a moment, prompting him to explain. "It's a potion which will make you tell the truth."
El thought about it for a moment. She could see the bonus, she couldn't be doubted if she went through with it, but all her secrets would be out in the open … her dreams … and Harry's secrets! El tried to catch Harry's eye, but couldn't. There was two choices: be labeled by a Deatheater or take the potion.
"I'll take the potion under two conditions." El stated. "You can't ask about dreams and you can't … you can't ask for any information about Harry. His secrets are his own and I don't have the right to blab them, even if I am under the influence of … the what-cha-ma-call-it. Agreed?"
Dumbledore also paused and looked thoughtful for a minute. "Agreed." The greasy git, Snape, stepped forward and offered a small, glass bottle. It looked to have only two or three drops left. El had never been so nervous in her entire life. Tilting her head back and closing her eyes tightly, she quickly felt the three drops hit her tongue. She coughed, grabbing her throat. It seemed to burn as it went through her body. It gave a whole knew meaning to the saying 'truth hurt'. Ten bucks said the guy who said it, had said it after taking this stuff. Eventually, the burning faded away and the room came back into focus. How weird, had it worked?
"Do you know who I am?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes." The answer came as if from someone else. How odd. El guessed the potion had worked. "You are Albus Dumbledore headmaster at Harry's school."
"Correct. Could you explain how you came to meet Harry Potter?"
"My parents and I used to spend the summers at my Grandparents; they lived down the street from the Dursley's. I was really lonely, so I tried to become friends with the neighborhood kids. It was the last day of school (I had been allowed to leave school early that year for the trip) and the kids who I had been trying to befriend were throwing stones at this kid. They gave me one, called me a chicken when I hesitated so … I threw it." El could feel her eyes fill with tears; she was still so ashamed of that day.
"I am still so ashamed. It hit the kid, knocked his glasses off, and sent his papers flying. They were all congratulating me. But I felt like shit. Why were they congratulating me? After they left me, I noticed one of his papers were in a bush. I picked it up and read it. It was written almost like a letter, but I believe it was a diary entry. It talked about how bad the kid had ... and gave him a name. Harry Potter."
El could hear a buzz of whispering spread around the crowd. "What is your full name?"
"Elizabeth Turner. No middle name."
"When were you born?"
"October 31st 1980."
"Where did you grow up?"
"I'm Smiths Falls born and bred sir." El could feel the smile on her face grow. "It's annoying. In some ways I love being in the whole small town 'everyone knows everyone' environment, but you can't get away with anything. My parents will know if I did something wrong before I did! I can't even j-walk without the entire town knowing!"
"Have you ever traveled?"
"Other then the summer I spent with my grandparents, the summer I met Harry, no. I haven't traveled anywhere really. I mean small family vacations into Quebec, once went down to Maine. But nothing major no."
"You never went to visit your grandparents again?"
"No, my grandparents died after we left. We were supposed to go back that summer, but my parents couldn't find it in their hearts. I think it was hard on them you know? I mean, sure I miss them; but you always expect your parents to stay with you. Even if you're forty or whatever."
"What can you tell me about your and Harry's relationship?"
"We are engaged." El felt a blush warm her cheeks. She couldn't look at Harry. What had she said? The room was deadly silent.
"May you care to elaborate?" Dumbledore had this annoying twinkle in his eye, which was so bright it hurt the eyes.
El didn't want to elaborate. But damnit, the words were slipping out of her mouth. "The summer we met we got really close. I fell in love with him and have been ever since." Damn she hadn't seen that one coming. "We were in line at an ice cream parlor and he had no money to buy any ice cream because the Dursleys wouldn't allow him to have any. I convinced him that if he married me when we got older I would buy him an ice cream cone and it would all even out.
"So he agreed, but I said we had to make it official. So he grabbed an elastic band off the floor wrapped it around my finger and was like 'there we're engaged'. I've never taken it off, not even for a shower." El held up her hand, showing the old rubber band wrapped against her ring finger.
"What happened next?" Dumbledore asked.
"We got two chocolate supreme sundaes, sir. Extra cookie bits of course."
"Of course," Dumbledore chuckled.
El could tell Harry was embarrassed. So was she. They sat beside each other, hardly eating anything (after all, Sirius, Lupin, Harry and El had eaten about half the pantry only hours earlier). El couldn't believe she had said all that stuff in front of a crowd of people and HARRY!
Sure it was seemed like no time had passed between them, but time HAD passed between them. Harry was now fifteen, and El would be soon too. They hadn't said one word to each other, not counting the last day, in over six years. And things happen, people change. Harry must think I'm a stalker. A crazy, crazy stalker! El just barely withheld a groan. No use making people focus on them.
El almost laughed at the thought. People had been looking at them as soon as they sat down. The people who had not been in the meeting, the teenagers, were looking at them curiously, wanting information. The adults were split into two groups. One group seemed to think their story was 'cute' and would look over and smile knowingly. The other adults would just stare.
El was ready to kiss Mrs. Weasley when she told them it was time to start cleaning. But that was before they started cleaning. It was a nightmare. That was the only way to describe it.
Creatures, actual creatures were hidden in the curtains and they would bite! The house was more like a war zone then a house. And El soon realized who was at the disadvantage. She wasn't magical, therefore felt more and more often in the way, then actually helping. She didn't know what they creatures they were dealing with were. She didn't know the spells the adults used. She was a stranger in a foreign world. At least the kids couldn't use magic!
Though that helped ease the tension El felt, it also brought up troubles of its own. She wasn't used to Harry having friends. It was a horrible thing to say, but it was the truth. She would see them laughing and joking, and feel a certain amount of jealousy. She had made friends, but none had come close to what she had had with Harry. But she could clearly see, Harry had. Her comment back in the interrogation room came back to mind. Did she really love him?
El shook her head. She sat down to rest for a second, wiping the sweat from out of her eyes. Harry and the others were talking about some sport she had never heard of. It sounded as if Harry was good at it. El wasn't surprised however, he had always been good at sports. El looked at the blank wall in front of her. It looked as if it had been white at one point, but a layer of thick grime had covered it. Then El noticed something odd.
Tilting her head to one side, she walked slowly up to the wall. She couldn't control her own feet. Her hand went to touch the red dot that had appeared on the wall. It was a liquid, bringing her hand away from the wall and closer to her face to examine it, she suddenly knew what it was. Blood. The dot of blood slowly grew, writing appeared on the board. Death was written in blood.
Slowly El turned around into the room, but it had changed. There was a curtain. It was white and billowing, voices seemed to come from it, but El couldn't make it out. Then she noticed the trail of blood leading to the curtain. El followed it. She couldn't stop herself, she was drawn to the veil, drawn by the blood. She quickly stepped behind the curtain. Sirius. Sirius was hanging, the rope around his throat was old but sturdy, swaying in the non-existent wind. His face was covered in scars, blood seemed to drip in time with El's frantic heart beat. She was too terrified to scream, too terrified to move.
Sirius's eye shot open, except there was no eyes, merely eye sockets. "Help" he wheezed. El did scream then. She screamed and cried. She needed out. Away from the room with the curtain, away from the sight of the blood, away from the eyeless Sirius. Some one was grabbing at her. Instinct took over. Fight back! Don't let them take you alive. Fight back! She punched and screamed and fought, until she heard Harry.
"Calm down, shhhhhh." El suddenly could see, she was on the floor, Harry on top of her, restraining her. He wasn't the only one, but El didn't care. Harry was here. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. Trying to block out what she had seen. "It's alright, don't worry. I'm right here. It's okay." He seemed to go on and on, but the drone of his words was a soft comfort. His hands stroking her hair and his voice, calmed her. Finally she stopped crying and was able to look around the room. Her eyes landed on Sirius and she surprised everyone by quickly jumping off of Harry and launching herself at Sirius.
"Stay away from the curtain! You can't ever go to the curtain! Please, promise me!" She cried desperately into his shirt. He awkwardly pet her head.
"Would you like to talk about it?" El turned around. Most people had left, but El hadn't noticed, or perhaps there won't that many people around as she had thought. Dumbledore stood though, calmness radiated from him.
"No," El gave a small laugh. "But I guess I have to …" Harry walked up to her and stood beside her. They didn't touch or anything, but the action was more then enough. El looked at Harry, giving him a small smile, only to frown. He had a black eye and several scratches. "Did I ..?"
"Perhaps you would like to hear what happened from our perspective?" Dumbledore asked kindly. El nodded, not daring to talk just yet. "Perhaps Miss. Granger would fill us in."
Hermione nodded. "Well, I noticed you looking off into space while the boys talked about Quidditch. So I decided to go over and talk to you, but you didn't seem to respond. I got nervous and tried to shake you gently, but nothing seemed to get through to you. And knowing this house, anything could have happened to you … no offense Sirius."
"None taking." Sirius said off handedly.
"So I yelled over at Harry and everyone. They came over and they couldn't get you out of it either." Harry suddenly grabbed El's hand and held on to it. As though the memory of it still pained him. "So I left them to go and get what was left of the order. By the time we returned, we were only there for about ten seconds before you started screaming. And … yeah." Hermione drifted off. I was obvious she wasn't a big one for talking in front of crowds. When she had begun and ended her voice had been a pitch higher then usual.
"Very well," said Dumbledore. He turned his attention back onto El. "Ms. Elizabeth, would you please tell us your story."
El didn't know why she did. It wasn't like she was still under the influence of that truth serum, but it felt like it. As she described the dream, she felt Harry's hand tighten. "So you have to promise me Sirius, no matter what, you'll not go near any rooms with talking curtains. Promise?"
Silence followed after this. A heavy silence, which made El feel distinctly awkward. "Have you ever dreamed about the future?" Dumbledore asked, looking very serious. El shifted next to Harry.
"I dunno." She muttered it softly. "But I don't want to talk about that right now."
"Of course." Dumbledore nodded in agreement, but El could tell he wasn't done with her yet.
Needing a distraction, El thought of a question. "When did you get back here sir?" Dumbledore had left after the meeting had wrapped up, claiming the need to sort out some business.
Dumbledore chuckled happily. "It would seem in my old age, I have the tendency to overlook small details. Such as where you will be staying."
Harry straightened up at this. "She'll be going home obviously." He said sharply. El felt hurt. Did he not want her here? Dumbledore lifted an eyebrow, silently asking Harry to explain himself. "She can't stay here. What if Voldemorte found out about her?" He turned to face El, his emerald eyes shone brightly. "I don't want to be responsible for your death?"
"And how would I staying make you responsible for my death?" El asked, her anger rising to the surface. She could see Harry's was also rising.
"Because he wouldn't hesitate to use someone I'm close to, to get to me!" Harry yelled. "Why do you think I kept you my secret for the past four years! One of the first things I heard about Voldemorte was that he might come back and knowing I was the person who took away all his power he would be sure to go after me! I might have been eleven but I wasn't a god damn idiot!"
"Well then stop acting like a god damn idiot. This isn't your choice to make! I can damn well choose my own life thank you very much." El yelled back.
"You don't understand! You're being selfish!"
"EXCUSE ME!" El shrieked me. "Me? I'm the one being selfish? Why don't you look in the mirror! You're all moping around and shit, well grow up! You have no right to make decisions for me!"
"Well, some one needs to think straight!"
"Oh and I'm not thinking straight?"
"No, you aren't."
"Um, excuse me." Dumbledore interrupted. If El hadn't been so furious at the moment, she would have marveled at Dumbledore's daring. But she was furious. "I don't believe the best option would be sending her home. If Voldemorte was to ever find out about your childhood, he would be sure to come across her. And if that was the case, going home would be putting her into more danger, then staying here, safely hidden in the Order's headquarters."
El gave a little start. "What about my parents?"
"They will be notified of course. But you being home with them would be putting them at risk too, if your not there they might not be bothered." Dumbledore leaned back. "What is a problem, of course, is your schooling. You are not a witch therefore I cannot enroll you into Hogwarts." El felt her heart drop a bit. She had kind of hoped that she would have been able to go with Harry … "I also have no sway over any of the muggle schools, so …"
Suddenly El got an idea. A crazy idea. "Er … sir?"
"Yes, Ms. Turner?"
"Would we be able to hook the house up to the internet?" El asked, crossing her fingers. Noticing a lot of blank stares, she hastened to explain. "You see the internet is like a … web of knowledge, or another world really. It connects everyone from all around the world. You can also go to school through the internet. See?"
"I believe so," Dumbledore became thoughtful again. "But I don't think that the house would be able to connect."
El thought for a moment. There had to be a way … If only. "Actually sir, if you would be so kind as to let me go shopping in London I believe that I can come up with a computer and a way to connect to the internet without the hook up." El suddenly frowned. "But I don't have any money on me …"
Harry gently squeezed her hand. "You can burrow some of my money." He said gently. His eyes wouldn't meet hers.
"I'll pay you back." El promised, gently returning the squeeze. She was still slightly pissed at him for trying to control her, but he had had good intentions.
"Wonderful," Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Your disciplinary hearing is on the 12th correct, Harry?"
"Yes sir, at nine in the morning." Harry was shifting uncomfortably beside her. What was Harry having a disciplinary hearing for? And why was Dumbledore not looking at him? He had no trouble looking at her. Something was going on here and El was going to find out what, as soon as she saved Sirius from the curtains. First things first, El reminded herself.
"Perfect, El will accompany you and after your hearing at the ministry, you may stop where everyou need to." Dumbledore said with a tone that left no room for arguments. He stood up, straightening his bright blue robes. "Arthur may I have a word with you before I leave?"
"Of course sir," Mr. Weasley said. They both left together. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. El couldn't stand silence, she had to say something. She glanced around the room, Hermione was holding a book.
"What's your favorite book?" El asked. Harry and Ron both groaned. Before El could even ask why they were groaning, Hermione was off. Talking about Hogwarts: A History and other magical books, all of which El had never heard of.
"Have you read the Da Vinci Code?" El asked.
"No, what's it about?" Hermione's eyes were alight with excitement. They sat on the couch and started to talk about books. They were so involved they hadn't even noticed when the room started to clear out. El noticed Ginny was about to leave, but called her over to join them.
It was fun. El thoroughly enjoyed herself. They would tell her about the wizarding world. And El would tell them (or up-date them in Hermione's case) about the muggle's world. And while she was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to attend Hogwarts with them, she couldn't help but feel that Dumbledore had made the right choice. She wouldn't have belonged there.
That night at supper, Harry and El sat beside each other again, but before they could go to bed in Harry's room; Hermione stopped them. Being dragged off to the girl's rooms, she gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek and a 'get-ready-because-I'm-not letting-you-get-off-the-hook-that-easily' look. Harry merely raised his eyebrow, a silent challenge. El sighed. She had no clue what she had gotten herself into.
So ... what do you think? Please review! It really helps for writing the story when you get feedback.What did you think about the vision? Was anyone confused by it? Please feel free to contact me!
-Ella M. Nite