CHAPTER NINE: The Perelli Charm

Woodstock dropped off Ellie's first piece of owl-delivered mail at Sunday breakfast. It was a letter from Mrs. Weasley, congratulating her on making the Quidditch team. Fred and George laughed about it, but she was touched; her own mother hadn't written to her all summer.

She had known she wouldn't hear much from her mother after choosing the life of magic, but to be written off entirely really hurt—especially now that questions about her father's identity were coming into play. How could she even think of asking her mother for answers when she wasn't even speaking to her?

Her addition to the Quidditch team seemed to do wonders for her popularity; Lavender, Parvati, and even Neville Longbottom all came to her for tips about their first flying lesson, which would take place the following week. But she wasn't worried about the flying lesson; she was worried about her meeting with Dumbledore.

"G flat or sharp?" Fred asked her. She had joined him and George in their dorm room and was resting on Lee's bed while Fred and George practiced their instruments.

"Flat," she replied, tapping her finger impatiently. "So, I mean, do you really reckon they'd tell my mum about the whole dog thing?"

"I want G natural for the chord, right?" he asked, ignoring her question—probably because she'd been asking the same question all day long.

She groaned, snatched the guitar from him, and strummed the chord he wanted. Then she asked again.

He sighed. "Yes, El. Like I said before, I think they'll write to her. You're only eleven years old, and she's your guardian."

"Was her guardian," George corrected. "Didn't she sort of…"

"Abandon me?" Ellie finished for him. "And anyway, it's not like she'll know what to do about it. She would have told me if she'd known about it."

Fred set down his guitar at that, giving her a gentle smile. "Which means it was probably your dad who did it. Which is why you're really so bent out of shape about this."

How did he do that? How did he always know what she was thinking?


They went to dinner a few hours later. Ellie's mood was still off, but she tried to smile and laugh along as Fred and George jabbered to anyone who would listen about the wonders of Muggle music.

She scanned the teachers' table, watching Dumbledore and wondering what he would say to her in their meeting, then watching Snape and wondering if he knew. Her lessons with him certainly hadn't improved, but he didn't seem to look at her differently than he had before.

Finally, Dumbledore rose to leave. To her surprise, he stopped right at her side and asked pleasantly, "Shall we?"

The Gryffindors who hadn't known about her meeting with him—namely, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean, and Seamus—all gaped at her as she rose to follow him.

They made their way through the busy, moving staircases in silence until they reached Dumbledore's office, where he said, "Toffee pops," and led her in.

McGonagall was there waiting for them, looking perturbed. "You're both late."

"Ah," chuckled Dumbledore. "Sadly, I don't have a house to dock points from."

"I'm happy to volunteer Slytherin for the cause," Ellie quipped hopefully.

Dumbledore laughed good-naturedly as McGonagall glared at her. "This is serious, Miss Bretherworth. You know why you are here, and I have already taken the liberty of informing Albus."

"Yes, yes," said Dumbledore, tone becoming more serious. "You came to Professor McGonagall as a dog and had two of your friends request that she transform you back. That means you are either an Animagus or were under a very advanced spell. Which is it?"

"Well, unless someone did it without me knowing, it wasn't a spell. Sir."

He nodded. "Has it happened since?"

She shook her head.

"Have you tried?"

She shook her head again. Truth be told, she hadn't even considered intentionally trying to turn into a dog again. Being stuck in that form, unable to communicate with anyone, had scared the hell out of her.

Dumbledore contemplated her for a moment, then said, "I think you should try again, here with us, so that we can determine whether it was a spell or not."

She was still borderline terrified, but at least if she did it here, McGonagall could change her right back, right? And being a dog… well, it did have its perks. So she nodded, closed her eyes, and… focused.

Focused on what? How was she supposed to turn into a dog on command?

"Perhaps it was a prank?" McGonagall suggested after a moment.

Before Ellie or Dumbledore could reply, the door opened. Ellie couldn't see him from where she was standing, but she heard his voice: "You asked for me?"

It was Snape.

And just like that, Ellie was a dog again.

"Come in, Severus," said Dumbledore, casting an amused glance in Ellie's direction. She watched with breath held as Snape stepped into the office and eyed her suspiciously. He hadn't seen her change.

"Is that a human?" he asked them.

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief as Dumbledore answered, "A stray. Severus, I would like you to tell me everything you know about Eleanor Bretherworth's father."

"Well, you know how I feel about him." Snape sounded disgusted. "Troublemaker from the beginning—just as bad as his friends—cocky—deserved the punishment he received."

Ellie did her best not to growl.

"I am well aware of those opinions, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "I would like to know how he was as a father."

Snape looked annoyed. "You know I had already graduated by then. My life had changed. But I knew Serena couldn't raise her—still a seventh year, and even if she wasn't, she couldn't handle a child. Not that he could."

None of this was news to Ellie; it was why her father had raised her until he was arrested. But how did Snape know so much about her and her mother?

"Yes, I know the story," said Dumbledore. "But surely you crossed paths with him at times, once he took her? In the presence of the Dark Lord?"

But Snape shook his head. "He was no Death Eater—just a cowardly traitor. Why do you ask?"

Not a Death Eater? But… then why was he in Azkaban?

Furthermore... was Dumbledore suggesting that Snape had been a Death Eater?

"I'm trying to discern whether he may have cast any spells on his daughter," Dumbledore explained. "Protective spells—in case something happened to him."

"Probably. He was famously pompous and overconfident in his abilities, and was fiercely protective of the girl—no doubt because she shared his blood. She was supposedly with him during the incident that led to his arrest; you'd expect that she was hurt, or at least taken by someone worried about seeing a toddler alone. But she wasn't found until nearly a day later."

Ellie could hardly keep up at this point. She had been with her father when he was arrested? How could she not remember that? Sure, she'd been young, but…

"You think a protection spell helped her from being hurt," Dumbledore inferred.

"Or a disguise spell to keep her from being found." Snape's eyes trailed down to Ellie and widened. "That isn't her, is it?"

He was smart; she had to give him that.

"I've been considering adopting a dog," Dumbledore answered cheerfully, avoiding lying again. "Any thoughts?"

"Not to my taste." Snape still looked suspicious, but didn't pry. "There was one thing Serena mentioned back then that caught my ear. She said he had a fixation with the Perelli charm. I wrote it off, of course, as there's no way in hell either of them could have managed that."

"Perelli?" repeated McGonagall, whose interest sounded piqued. Ellie's was, too, though she had no idea what a Perelli charm was. "That would have been quite a feat, indeed. I wonder what her means of shielding would be?"

"Probably whenever she's making trouble," muttered Snape.

"That will be all, Severus," said Dumbledore. As Snape bowed his head and turned to leave, Dumbledore added, "And might I remind you that we discourage prejudice here at Hogwarts to the same extent that we discourage favoritism?"

Snape nodded bitterly. "Of course." And, with a sweep of his cloak, he exited.

Ellie didn't need McGonagall's help changing back this time; it was like taking a giant gasp of air she'd been holding in for too long.

Dumbledore looked amused by her near-hyperventilating state. "Perhaps it will take time to get used to."

But she didn't have time for jokes. "Sir… I don't understand. I thought you were asking him about my dad having made me an Animagus. What's a Perelli charm? And how did Snape—"

"Professor Snape," McGonagall and Dumbledore both corrected.

"—know my parents?"

"The Perelli charm," Dumbledore said calmly, "is an extremely rare and powerful protection spell that can only be casted by a very powerful parent onto a very young child. It is highly dangerous, and has only been successfully performed once in history."

McGonagall snorted. "'Successful' isn't the first word I'd choose."

"It is a shield," Dumbledore explained to Ellie, "that activates only at certain times—when the shielded person is doing the thing he or she loves the most. It can render the person nearly invincible."

"But… what does that have to do with me turning into a dog?"

"Nothing," answered McGonagall. "In all likelihood, nothing came of his interest in the Perelli charm, and he chose to turn you Animagus instead."

"Or," said Dumbledore cheerfully, "he was so concerned with protecting you, he did both."

Ellie could hardly believe what she was hearing. She had known—hoped, at least, that her father had loved her; after all, he had raised her when her mother wouldn't. But to shower her with advanced protection spells and abilities, the likes of which had barely ever been seen before?

"And Sn—I mean, Professor Snape?" she asked, shaking those thoughts away for now. "How did he know so much about my parents?"

Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged a look at that. Dumbledore cleared his throat and told her gently, "I think that is a question for your mother."


So Ellie might be able to turn into a dog AND use a crazy-rare shield? Some dad she must have... minus the whole prison thing, anyway. Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, and hope you'll drop a review if you did! See you very soon for the next chapter, and thanks for reading!