(GoF) CHAPTER SIXTEEN: So Much For the Promises

When Ellie woke up to the feeling of Fred's arms around her and the knowledge that they were finally together, she was overwhelmed by the feeling that she was so happy, almost nothing could bring her down.

And then she remembered that today was the day Aleks was arriving at Hogwarts, and realized that he was the very definition of "almost nothing."

"It really should be a crime that you look like that first thing in the morning, you know," Fred told her when he saw her eyes flutter open.

She rolled her eyes as she rubbed them and sat up, though, of course, the compliment got to her. "How many cheesy lines like that should I expect now that we're together?"

"Oh, at least a dozen or two. I've been sitting on that particular one for years—ever since that first time Mum caught us out of our beds at the Burrow."

She recalled it well. Even then, waking up next to him had felt anything but platonic. Hearing a line like that surely would have done her in.

"Is there a morning breath rule about kissing?" she asked him with a small grin. "Because I'd really like to—"

He interrupted her, of course, with a swift kiss of his own.

"Mmm," he teased when he pulled away from her. "You have the tastiest morning breath of anyone I know."

She shoved him playfully at that, but before she could think of a witty comeback, her stomach growled so loudly, they both laughed out loud.

"Guess that means I should go and get some us some breakfast," he said, reaching for his broom.

She frowned. "I should go with you and try and catch Cedric there."

"Ah—right." He grinned. "Poor bloke. Being on the receiving end of an Ellie Black rejection sure isn't fun."

"Nor is being on the receiving end of a Fred Weasley one," she pointed out.

"Touché." But his gaze wasn't quite as light as his word choice. "Look, El, I know I've said it, but—"

"What's done is done," she interrupted as she mounted her broom and touched off the ground. "C'mon—I'll race you back down."


To both Ellie's disappointment and relief, Cedric wasn't at breakfast.

"Bit odd, isn't it?" asked Fred as they enjoyed an amusing meal with their friends in which they both struggled to act normal despite sitting quite a bit closer together than usual and exchanging quite a few flirtatious glances at each other. Ellie was a bit surprised he didn't go so far as to touch her leg beneath the table; then again, heated as things had gotten the night before, his hands hadn't done much wandering then, either.

"Maybe." She didn't necessarily find it strange, but she did want to get on with ripping the Band-Aid off, so to speak. "D'you reckon I should try him at the Hufflepuff Tower? I'm not sure I even know where their portrait is."

He seemed to want to say yes, but ultimately shook his head. "I'm sure you can catch him at lunch. We've got to get to class soon, anyway."

She nodded, giving his hand a little squeeze under the table to assure him that she very much intended to follow through, before turning her attention back to their friends.


But she didn't make it to Cedric by lunch, either. She had performed exceptionally poorly in Moody's class, and he had insisted that she stay behind to continue her work on fighting the Imperius Curse.

"Albus told me a bit about your situation, you know," he grunted at her as the rest of the class filed out. She glanced reluctantly at the door, hoping Fred would understand why she had to stay. "With Dolohov's son."

She nodded grimly. "Did you know him—his dad, I mean?"

"Oh, I knew him. Helped put him in Azkaban, too. Had no idea he had a son, though. Certainly never kept him around back then—though, of course, wizarding war's no place for a child."

It was possible that that was a good sign, right? Then again, Moody was right; even a Death Eater wouldn't bring a four-year-old to a war zone.

"Do you reckon I have anything to worry about?" she asked him then. "With Aleks, I mean. Dolohov's son."

Both of his eyes locked onto her for a moment, but only a moment, before the glass one started zipping around again. "Constant vigilance," he said—which were apparently his two favourite words. "Worry about everyone, Miss Black, and you might just stay alive."


You okay?

Ellie glanced surreptitiously down at her necklace, trying her best to keep Snape from noticing. She was in Potions, the last class of the day before the students from Durmstrang and Beaubatons arrived.

Yeah, she messaged back. Sorry. I was really wrecking my Imperius resistance today, so Moody had me stay late to work on it.

Right. She could see his face in the mirror, though he was wise enough not to use the sound aspect of their communication devices while in class. More words appeared around his face: After the welcoming feast, then?

He was referring to her breaking the news to Cedric, of course. He'd been patient so far, but his patience was likely waning thin. She couldn't exactly blame him; she'd want the same thing if their roles were reversed.

Of course. Right after.

Finally, Snape begrudgingly allowed the class to end on time, and the Gryffindors piled out of the dungeons to throw their books into their dorms before heading for the front of the castle, where the students were to land.

"How d'you reckon they'll show up?" asked Ron excitedly as they met up with the twins after dropping off their things. "Can't Apparate in or out of Hogwarts, as Hermione's told us about a thousand times."

Hermione shot Ron a sarcastic look at that as the Prefects came around to usher them all into straight, single file lines. Thankfully, Ellie was positioned not far from Fred; she was going to need all the support she could get from him.

"Ah—here we are!" announced Dumbledore a few minutes after they had taken their places. "The delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

Ellie and her classmates followed Dumbledore's gaze up toward the sky, in which a giant, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage the size of a large house approached them, pulled by a herd of flying, palomino-coated horses.

"Why don't we have those?" breathed Lavender from her spot behind Ellie as the carriage landed bumpily down in front of them. "Our stupid carriages aren't pulled by anything!"

But before anyone could answer her rather rhetorical question, a small boy stepped over to the carriage to lower the brilliant, golden steps and allow a giant, Hagrid-sized woman to step down them.

Dumbledore started clapping for her, at which point the rest of his students, seeming rather hesitant, followed suit. The woman approached Dumbledore with a hand extended, which he graciously bent—ever so slightly—to kiss. "Madam Maxime," he greeted warmly. "I do hope the trip was kind to you."

"But of course," she said in a prim, French accent before gesturing behind her. "And here are my students."

A dozen boys and girls, all seemingly of age, emerged from the carriage at that. They were all in fine silk robes, and seemed much more clean-cut and glamorous than any of the students at Hogwarts.

"Bloody hell," breathed Ron when he saw a particularly gorgeous, silvery-haired girl toward the front of the line. "She's a Veela!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ronald," whispered Hermione back to him. "She's a student, not a Veela."

Ellie glanced in amusement at Fred, who tapped his ring. She glanced down at her locket and grinned when she saw his message: She doesn't have anything on you.

The Beaubatons students headed inside at that, and a few minutes later, the smooth, black surface of the lake became bubbly and then flat-out wavy as a whirlpool slowly began to appear. A long, black pole emerged from it first, and shortly thereafter, an entire ship. As soon as it had fully emerged from the water, it glided over to the riverbank, where it set anchor.

It was the Durmstrang ship, of course. They were here.

He was here.

Ellie didn't pay much attention to the man who emerged first—likely the headmaster of their school. She didn't pay much attention to Fred, either, or to anything at all except the frame of the ship's door, where, in a matter of moments, Aleksander Dolohov would appear.

Time slowed quite a bit, but finally, he did emerge. And as soon as he did, his frighteningly blue eyes pinned themselves to Ellie's.

She held her breath as he walked toward the entrance to the school. He wouldn't say anything to her. He couldn't say anything to her. She was surrounded by her friends and classmates. She was—

Third room on the left when you walk in. Meet me there alone, or your Ministry of Magic gets tipped off to the exact location of Daddy Dearest.

It was his voice—Aleks'—but it was in her head.

He'd already been in her head, of course. But now it was literal.

So much for the promises, she thought with a heavy look in Fred's direction.

Things were about to get messy.


Well, we all knew Aleks' appearance at Hogwarts wasn't going to be pretty... but what's he going to say to her when he gets her alone? IF he gets her alone, that is... Stay tuned to find out, and don't forget to review and follow to show that support!