(GoF) CHAPTER TWO: The Flight Home

Over the course of the next few weeks, Ellie started taking more and more trips into town to work with Aleks. She told Sirius that she had made friends with the local barista—not exactly a lie—to which he said, as he always did, to be careful. But he didn't stop her. Above all else, Sirius wanted his daughter to be happy.

At first, the spells Aleks taught her were tame—longer and harsher variations of Stupefy, the Stunning Spell, along with a temporary freezing spell and a rather fascinating slowing spell. Ellie feared, as she started to play with the spells herself, that Aleks had been wrong and the Ministry would come for her. But they didn't.

Over time, the spells he showed her became more and more violent. By the end of July, when he demonstrated a particularly vomit-inducing spell he called "The Cut" on a helpless manikin he'd conjured, Ellie decided she'd had enough.

"Look," she said, swallowing. "I appreciate all you've shown me, Aleks, but I have no intentions of ever needing to slice my opponent's stomach open."

"No?" he asked, taking a step toward her. "Not even if that opponent was trying to do much worse to someone you loved?"

She tried to imagine what she would do to someone trying to harm Fred, Sirius, Harry, or any of her other friends. She'd want to hurt them, surely. But would she want to gut them in such a vile way?

"I think we should stop our lessons," she said as diplomatically as she could. "It's nearly August, anyway, and—"

"Hang on a minute." He sounded more frustrated than she had expected. "You really don't see the appeal here?"

Of course, she saw the appeal. It was as enticing to her as she was sure it was to all the many witches and wizards who had chosen to embrace it over the years. That was exactly what scared her about it.

"It's nothing personal," she said. "Like I said, I appreciate the help. But—"

"What about me?" he asked, voice softer now—lower. He took a step toward her, and she took a step backwards instinctively, but her back hit the wall of the alley. "Do you see the appeal in me?"

It wasn't the first time Aleks had flirted with Ellie, but it felt entirely different now. He wasn't cocky and charming like the Oliver Woods she was used to back home; he was frightening and alarming.

"You're a handsome guy," she said in a shakier voice than she would have liked. "But I'm afraid I'm taken."

"Taken?" he repeated, laughing. He took another step toward her. They were almost chest-to-chest now. "You're not taken, and we both know it."

"Aleks." Her heart was starting to pound. "Come on. This isn't funny."

"No," he agreed. "Frustrating, but not funny. Tell me, Emma—what is it about you that's so resistant to me?"

She tried to squirm away from him, but his hands grasped her arms so hard, she actually cried out in pain. As soon as she did, he moved one hand to cover her mouth. When she tried to bite down on his finger, he slammed her hard against the wall—and thrusted one leg between her two.

He brought his lips slowly to her ear at that, where he whispered in a haunting voice, "Stop resisting."

Which, of course, made her resist all the more.

With his hand covering her lips, she couldn't exactly use her Perelli charm to her advantage. So she did the next-best thing: she changed into a dog.

Well, she didn't love the idea of him knowing she was an Animagus, but did she have a choice?

She knew she could outrun him—knew that escape was within her grasp—but it wasn't quite enough. For making a fool out of her, for making her consider the perks of Dark magic, but most importantly, for threatening to violate her, she had to make him pay.

So she sank her teeth into his forearm, bit him as hard as she could, and then ran.

It was time for them to move again.


"Slow down, Ellie. I don't understand. What happened?"

"I told you—I'll explain when we're in the air. For now, we just have to get out of here."

She didn't have much to pack, nor did he. She hadn't had time to get her trunk or even her owl when she and Sirius had fled from Hogwarts back in June. But even the few things she put into her small, canvas bag felt like too many.

She couldn't stop replaying the scene with Aleks in her head. How could she have been so stupid? She had known from the beginning, at least on some level, that she couldn't trust him. Her instincts had warned him about him. Why hadn't she listened?

Once they were packed, they headed out back to load onto Buckbeak, who looked thrilled at the prospect of stretching his wings again.

"I don't know where we should go," Ellie admitted to Sirius once they had loaded safely onto the Hippogriff's back. "Do you?"

"Yeah," he said with a small smile. "I know where."

And he coaxed the great beast into the air.


Once they had put Aleks' town safely in the rear view, Ellie gathered up the courage to tell Sirius the truth. She left out some of the details that would make him the angriest—the part where she had allowed Aleks to teach her Dark magic, for example, and the part where he had shoved his leg between hers—but judging from how angry her father looked when she was finished, she'd still given him enough.

"You should have told me," Sirius said darkly. "But, then… I never should have brought you out here in the first place."

She sighed. Sirius was facing her; they had long since learned to sit face-to-face on Buckbeak's back and trust the Hippogriff to steer for them. "We've been over this, Dad. I don't regret coming with you. I've loved spending the summer with you."

She meant it. Despite the stress and confusion of constantly being on the run, she had loved spending time with the father she had once thought would be behind bars in Azkaban for the rest of his life. She wouldn't trade it for anything.

"And so have I, Ellie," Sirius told her softly, reaching out to squeeze her hands. "But it's time for you to go."

She blinked, confused. "As in, what… jump off Buckbeak and hope for the best?"

He laughed out loud. "Of course, not. But I need to take you back to the UK—to England."

There were several places he could take her to in England, but she had a feeling she knew which one he was referring to. "I told you before—I'm not ready to face him again. It's too much. Can't I just—"

"It's already August," Sirius reminded her patiently. "You'll have to see him in a month, anyway. Besides—if you go now, there's a strong chance you'll get to join them for a certain one-in-a-lifetime sporting experience."

Once-in-a-lifetime sporting experience? But that could only mean… "The Quidditch World Cup?"

He nodded. "Can't say for sure, but I'd reckon Arthur Weasley's got his hand on some tickets, with his job at the Ministry and all. Wouldn't you like to go?"

Of course, she would. But not if it meant leaving her father. "Where would you go? Would we still get to talk? Write?"

"I'll try and settle in closer to the UK for the rest of August—maybe France or Germany. Once you head to Hogwarts, I'll look into making my way closer still. You can start sending Woodstock my way in September."

"I could find things out for you," she reminded him. "I could talk to Dumbledore and the Weasleys—find out if he got the word out and if you have allies."

He smiled, but, as usual, seemed intent on not allowing her to do any of that for him. "Thank you, sweetheart, but it's not necessary. I just want you to focus on having a good time with the rest of your summer."

She nodded grimly. She still didn't want to leave him, but she was starting to sense that she didn't have a choice in the matter. She'd been lucky when he said yes the first time; she didn't want to push it. And for the sake of her hygiene, if nothing else, she could use a real home again. "We should drop you at the mainland first, though, right? You shouldn't cross over the border."

"Oh, no—I'm definitely taking you door to door. Not taking any chances."

"Door to door? But, Dad, you can't just waltz up to the Weasleys' front door—"

"No," he agreed. "I can't. So I'd strongly suggest you make use of that little trinket of yours and ask young Fred to take a broomstick up to meet us."


"El? Are you okay? Where are you?"

It had taken her almost twenty minutes to muster up the courage to open her locket and glow Fred, but finally she had managed. He looked a little different—a little more mature and grown-up than he had when she'd seen him last—but he was looking at her the same way he always did. At least… almost always.

"I'm fine," she told him. "We had to leave the place we were staying. Dad wants… he thinks it's best if I come to the Burrow now."

Fred's anxious, brown eyes filled with relief and excitement. "Well, of course it is! Is that where you're headed now? How long until you get here?"

Ellie wasn't entirely sure how long the Hippogriff commute would be, though, judging from how long the flight out had taken, it was more than a few hours. "Can you ask your parents, though?" she asked, avoiding the question. "If they're alright with me coming, I mean?"

He snorted. "Please. They haven't shut up about you all summer. They'll be ecstatic."

She couldn't help but smile at that. She had always loved Molly and Arthur Weasley, who had taken her in when her own mother had chosen to leave all things magic in the rear-view, but a part of her had always wondered how much of their decision to take her in had come from the size of the paycheck Ellie's mother had written them in exchange.

There wouldn't be a paycheck this time, though—at least, she doubted it. Ellie wasn't even entirely sure where her mother currently thought she was.

"We have a lot to catch up on," Fred told her, seeming to read her mind as usual. "Is there someplace I can meet you? Maybe somewhere that's safer for Sirius to go?"

"We can make it to Devon," said Sirius. "Just tell him to meet us in the skies above Ottery St. Catchpole."

Fred nodded, having heard him. "I'll be there. Best guess of when you'll arrive?"

"By sunset," said Sirius. "Maybe sooner."

"Then I'm on my way now."


Ellie's apprehension grew deeper when they crossed over the English Channel, but they weren't met with any degree of chaos or danger when they reached land again.

"I'm going to miss you," she told her father as they neared Devon. "Please be careful, Dad. And when I send you that first letter on September 1st…"

"I'll send one right back," he promised her. "I'll miss you, too, Ellie."

Off in the distance, she saw a small, black speck with a red tip that could only be Fred awaiting them. Without even realizing it, she allowed a smile to light up her face.

"It's nice, seeing you like that," Sirius told her with a smile of his own. "Nice enough that I might even allow myself to forgive the prat for his indiscretions with you last year… that is, if you decide to do the same."

She laughed at that; she was no closer to making that decision now than she had been back in June. "We'll see."

And then, finally, they reached Fred.

It was hard to tell what he was thinking when he saw her. Ellie had barely spared a single glance in a mirror all summer; she'd had little knowledge or care what her appearance looked like. Now, though, with him staring at her that way, she suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Fred," greeted Sirius with a curt nod. His slightly cool tone suggested to her that he hadn't arrived at the forgiveness he had just mentioned yet. "Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for bringing her," replied Fred evenly. Apparently he hadn't entirely forgiven Sirius, either, for taking her away that summer. "Where will you go?"

Ellie and Sirius exchanged a look at that. Sirius smiled softly and nodded to Ellie. "Go on, then. We'll be fine."

She moved forward to give her father one last, tight hug, then leaned down to rub Buckbeak's neck affectionally. Finally, Fred handed her the spare broom he had brought, and she loaded up.

With one, final wave, Sirius took his leave of them.

Ellie turned her attention toward Fred, offering him a weak smile. "To the Burrow, then?"

"Actually, I had a little detour in mind," he said. "If you're willing."

Of course, she was willing.

Even after everything that had happened between them, she couldn't shake the feeling that she would follow him anywhere.


Reunited at last! At least Ellie managed to shake the creepy Aleks... but he did mention he was a Durmstrang student, and we all know what school will be heading toward Hogwarts in a few months... Oh, the intrigue! Stay tuned for the next, and don't forget to follow and review!