(PoA) CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Fine

As March turned to April and the summer drew nearer, Ellie put all of her energy into focusing on Buckbeak. She, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all poured through books about previous magical creature cases, taking care to flag anything involving Hippogriffs, but there seemed to be next to nothing to substantiate their case.

When she wasn't researching the case, she was visiting Buckbeak himself. Hagrid always greeted her with a sad smile, telling her how much her visits meant to Buckbeak. She could tell he was right—Buckbeak had always liked Ellie, and seemed to sense that her visits carried more weight now than they had before. She often took him on short rides, not only for his sake, but also for the sake of clearing her own head.

She found herself thinking about Fred more and more, instead of less and less. Things were good between her and Oliver now—as "good" as they could be, at least, considering he was graduating soon and she had been in love with someone else from the start. They didn't party anymore; they just spend time one on one together, holding hands, chatting, laughing, and stealing kisses where they could. He never pressured her for more, which she appreciated, since "more" was starting to feel like the last thing she should do with him.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake that Christmas Eve night in Sirius' old pit—the way Fred had kissed her like she was the only person in the world—like she might slip through his fingertips at any second—like she was all that mattered.

She would never find anyone else who kissed her like that. Of that, she was certain.

"Thanks for the ride, buddy," she said softly to Buckbeak when they landed in the paddock. She gave him a rub on the forehead before heading back to the common room.

As she walked, the tears started to sting at her eyes. It wasn't just Fred and the memory of that fateful kiss. It was the knowledge that, in all likelihood, Buckbeak was going to die. It was the reminder that, somewhere in the forest she was walking away from, her father sat, waiting for the cover of darkness, where he would risk his life yet again to find the rat who had gotten his best friends killed—and the understanding that he may never get his vengeance. After all, the end of the school year was drawing near. Sirius couldn't stay at Hogwarts over the summer any more than Peter Pettigrew could. What would he do? Where would he go?

She wasn't looking where she was going anymore. She heard herself nearly shout the password at the Fat Lady, ducking her head, avoiding the gazes of everyone around her. She didn't want them to see her tears.

And that was when she bumped head-first right into the very boy she was crying about—at least, one of the boys she was crying about.

Fred.

She lifted her eyes to meet his. Hers were heavy, puffy, and no less tearful than they had been a moment ago, but she had to do it. In her moments of weakness, Ellie had always turned to Fred for comfort; why should now be any different?

Because he hates you, her inner voice told her. Because you hate him.

But he wasn't looking at her like a boy who hated a girl. He was looking at her the way he always had—like a boy who loved a girl.

What could she say to him? Could she find it in her to apologize, even though she still felt she had nothing to be sorry for? If she could, would they finally be able to be friends again?

She was so lost without him, she might just be able to stomach it.

She settled for one, simple word—one that could just as easily be an apology for the simple act of bumping into him as for all the pain that existed between them: "Sorry."

She realized, as the word escaped her lips, that she was sorry—sorry for ever having tried to take things to the next level with him—sorry for having been the trigger that ended their friendship. She would take it all back in a second if she could, if it meant having her friend back.

"El," he said softly, and it felt so good to hear him say her name again—that tiny, sweet nickname that was almost exclusively reserved for him. "Are you okay?"

People had been asking her that question quite a bit lately. She always found a way to lie to them—yes, I'm fine; it's just allergies; I just need a minute. But, staring into those deep, brown eyes she'd once found so much trust and comfort in, she found that she couldn't lie to him any more now than she'd been able to before.

And why should she? How could he even ask her a question like that?

He knew she wasn't okay. He knew she didn't have real feelings for Oliver. He knew that she was in love with him, and that when he had abandoned her, he had taken not only that from her, but also her best friend.

She was done being mad, and she was done trying to hurt him. But that didn't change the fact that sometimes, he was a total idiot.

"Fred," she said, shaking her head. "How could you even ask me that?"

It was clear from his expression that he understood. Despite how mad he was at her for her part in what had gone down between them, and in her brash and often ridiculous actions that had followed, he was also mad at himself. He knew that she wasn't okay—that she had needed him countless times over the past few months, and he hadn't been there for her.

He parted his lips to speak, but before he got the chance, he was interrupted.

"There you are," Oliver said, coming over and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

She could have said no. She could have made the decision, then and there, that Fred was more important to her than Oliver—that all she wanted was her best friend back—that it wasn't fair to keep lying to any of them. She had a feeling that, if she did, Fred would take her back—would forgive her for whatever it was he thought she had done to him.

But Fred had hurt her, and Oliver hadn't.

And it was a whole lot easier to lie to Oliver than to tell Fred the truth.

"Yeah," she said, peeling her gaze away from Fred's and smiling up at Oliver. "I'm fine."

And just like that, Fred was gone again.


Ellie did her best to push back her thoughts of Fred in the coming days. Oliver didn't ask her about the interaction, remaining as kind and supportive as he always was with her, and no one else had even noticed it.

Hagrid was in bad shape. Ellie, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all delivered their new source material to them at the rate they found it, but he seemed to find it hopeless. At the beginning of this particular Care of Magical Creatures class, he said a few words to the class about how grateful Buckbeak was for his time with all of them and how, if he did end up being sentenced to death, he would surely miss them very much.

And that was when it happened—so suddenly, Ellie have-thought she must have slipped into a hallucination. First, Draco teasing Hagrid's tears—laughing to his friends not only about Hagrid, but also about the imminent death of Buckbeak—and then, just like that, Hermione backhanding Draco so hard, now he was the one with tears in his eyes.

For several seconds, Ellie just stared at Hermione with her jaw hanging open. Of all the people in her year to have done such a thing, Hermione was the last person she would have expected. If anything, Ellie could have seen herself doing such a thing—but that was before. Back when she had Fred and George around to influence her to stir up trouble. Back when she was passionate and brave and loud spoken.

Now, all she could do was appreciate that someone else was that way.


It wasn't just the hitting of Draco, Ellie learned over the next few days. Something was going on with Hermione. She seemed more and more on edge with each passing day—exhausted and clearly sleep-deprived—as if the incredible workload she had taken on that year was finally catching up to her. She denied it, of course, whenever Ellie asked her about it. All Ellie could do was tell her that she was there if she needed help—or a friend.

Ellie and Oliver were doing better than ever, though Ellie wasn't entirely sure how much that was really saying. With every passing day, she found that she cared more and more for him—appreciating him for being so good to her—sweet and supportive without being jealous; affectionate and romantic without putting pressure on her.

But they were still… Ellie and Oliver. A real couple, yes, but one that loved each other? One that would last?

A part of her wanted to talk to him about it. They had discussed Fred when they first got together, but it had been months since then. Did he think she had fallen for him since? Did he think they would stay together after Hogwarts?

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. She was next to him on the couch in the common room, both of them enjoying a moment of silence, though she could feel his eyes on her. He had to be wondering, didn't he?

But what could she tell him? Did she love him? No. Did she like him? Yes. She liked him a lot—maybe more than she liked to admit. But was she over Fred? Would she ever love him more than Fred?

She was developing a headache just thinking about it.

"Hey, Ol?" she finally asked, looking back at him.

"Yes, beautiful?"

"You really are the best. You know that, right?"

His smile wavered slightly—just for an instant. It was as if he knew, despite her intentions of being kind, what she was really saying: that she didn't love him. That she never would.

But then the smile returned, and all he said was, "Only when you're not in the running."


Ellie sat between Harry and Dean in Divination the next day. Hermione was nowhere to be found, and Harry and Ron's concerns for her evident. But, not knowing what to say to make them feel better, Ellie chatted with Dean instead.

"Something going on with you and Oliver?" Dean asked her in a hushed tone. Trelawney was going on in her usual manner, not paying much attention to any of them. They were on crystal-gazing, which Ellie was no better at than tessomancy.

"What do you mean?" she asked him, frowning.

"Just rumors going around—you know, that things have changed between you two since you played that song."

She really wished people hadn't made so many assumptions about what Stupid Girl meant. She had truly only intended for it to be about herself. "Changed how?"

"That's what's up for debate, I s'pose. Some say you haven't been the same since. Some people say you're stronger than ever and even have bets on you getting engaged by June."

Ellie wanted to vomit at the sound of that particular rumor. She had four years before it would even be a legal possibility, and easily another decade before she'd actually consider it.

Besides, if she was going to marry anyone…

She shook that thought away the instant it crossed her mind. Didn't matter. Would never be an option.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you," she said shortly. "We're not getting married, and we're not breaking up. We're doing just fine, and he's really great."

Dean's eyes lingered on her as if to say I don't quite buy it, but he said nothing. Like everyone else, he seemed to sympathize with the fact that she had tried getting who she really wanted, and who she really wanted hadn't wanted her back.

Hermione entered the class at that, giving Trelawney a cold apology before taking a seat between Ron and Harry without bothering to explain. Harry glanced at Ellie as if to ask if she had any idea, but she shrugged, not having a clue.

Once Hermione took her seat at a crystal ball, Trelawney began her march around the room, examining everyone's progress. Ellie and Harry both had the Grim again, or, as they both knew now, Sirius. Trelawney, of course, who didn't know any such thing, launched into a whole new fit of despair as she reminded the class that they were going to die.

Hermione slammed her hand down on the table, shocking just about everyone in the room. "Not that ridiculous Grim again!" she shouted, exasperated.

"Miss Granger!" Trelawney gasped, appalled. "There is nothing ridiculous about your best friends' imminent—"

"The only thing imminent," Hermione interrupted fiercely, "is that I am not going to be taking this joke of a class for another second!"

And without further ado, she leapt to her feet and ran from the room.


"Hermione," Ellie said when she caught up with her friend in their room that evening. "What's going on with you?"

Hermione, who was surrounded by textbooks even right there on her bed, looked embarrassed by the question. "I'm sorry about earlier. She just makes me so mad, Ellie—repeatedly saying you and Harry are going to die—"

"There's no need to apologize on behalf of her," Ellie said quickly. "But, Hermione—I'm worried about you. We all are. None of us have understood how you managed to even get to all of your classes this year, let alone keep up with the workload."

Hermione's cheeks turned pink at that. "There's a reason. It's just sort of a… secret."

Ellie thought of her own secrets, many of which she had been keeping from Hermione for almost a year by then. "Well, I understand—and I won't push you. But if you want to share, I can assure you I'm quite good at keeping secrets, myself."

Hermione was silent for a moment. Then, finally, she pulled something out of her pocket. It was a small, golden trinket akin to a large necklace, inside of which was a tiny hourglass.

"It's called a Time-Turner," she explained. "Top secret, and highly off-limits except in extremely specific circumstances like mine. I've been using it to get to my classes all year, only… it's starting to feel like it's taking its toll."

Ellie could hardly believe what she was hearing. A Time-Turner? The Hogwarts staff had entrusted Hermione with a device that could literally… turn back time?

Her mind whirled at the possibilities a device like that could have for her, her father, and the world itself, but she forced herself to push all of that back as she stared into the sad, tired eyes of her friend.

"Forget Divination," she said, smiling gently at Hermione. "Let's focus on getting you through the rest of your exams in one piece."


Little plot twist for you here, with the Time-Turner being revealed earlier than in POA... but will it amount to a change in the way the story ends? Only TIME shall tell... get it? We've got a big Quidditch match in the next chapter, so be sure not to miss it, and don't forget to review and follow!