In the depths of her echoing mind Elena hadn't had much to worry about. She didn't have to think very much, she could relax. She could relive the happy moments. It was fun.

She couldn't escape anymore. Awake and very conscious of her parents worried stares Elena couldn't escape them. She didn't want to worry them anymore than she already had. Who did she think she was to fall unconscious? She had no right to make such a show of herself.

Poor little Daphne and her problems. You are an heiress, you can't afford to have problems. You must shine, you are perfection. Everything is okay.

"Elena," her mother's soft hands touched her cheek. "go back to bed. You shouldn't be up yet." Even as she said it, she helped Elena sit up. Seeing Black earlier had made her sicker than she already was. The healers tittered around her pushing her hair away to check her throat.

The Black curse was a thing of myths. It was supposed to be, but with her bitter luck it wasn't was it? Her hair, a nice shade of black, was turning white of all shades. She already had the lightest shade of blond before yet here she was again. This time it was natural of course. Because Elena just simply couldn't catch a break.

Silly girl. The healer was talking over her head. She would be okay, that was the only thing she gathered from the conversation. She was all too ready to hop out of bed and run to her bedroom. She found herself missing the stuffed bear James had left for her, childish but she afforded the embarrassment.

The healers hands pushed her back onto the bed. She couldn't bring the energy to fight back. She hated the weakness she felt, but there was nothing to do. She was stuck here until the black madness made itself more clear.

Her eyes were getting heavy. She felt herself make a distressed growl, she couldn't lift her hands anymore. The healer was a liar.

She wouldn't be okay.

The next time she woke up, it was night. The sky was dark, the window facing her bed was wide open. She felt fine but at any moment she could be enveloped in darkness.

Elena pushed herself up. She needed the loo and badly. Yet she couldn't push the thought to her legs. They wouldn't move. Sighing she moved the blanket off. Now she could move just fine. Odd, she would revisit the moment later.

Stepping onto St Mungos floor was unpleasant. Artificially cold, not natural. She hated it. She didn't like a lot of things did she? Was that her past life's fault? Daphne hadn't been found of a good deal.

She was Daphne, but Elena felt a certain difference with her past life. Years in this body had her feel new. Whole without the expectations.

Padding out of the room was easy, finding the loo less so. She got lost a few times but eventually she made it. She stepped in front of the sink and screamed.

Her hair! Her beautiful hair! White. Before the one streak that had enveloped it was enough to irk her. But now seeing her hair completely covered. She felt something encompassing. Her hair was it. She was done. Why was she crying? It was beautiful.

Longer than before, just to the middle of her back. Wavy instead of stick straight. Soft and tangle free. She wanted to cry harder. The black madness had such a dreadful name. This was glorious!

Confidently she left back to her patient room. She could live like this. Daphne would have killed someone for doing something to her hair. She hated the blond, but she wasn't Daphne was she? Not completely anymore. Elena liked her hair, she liked the way it fell.

She died, she died disfigured. They took her beauty, they took her hair. How had she died?

Elena shook her head clear, she didn't have to think about any of that. She was free to be who she wanted. Her father was reading the paper on his chair. He was humming that sweet toon that never seemed to leave him.

He passed her a slip of paper and she beamed. James had finally written, after two weeks he was proud to proclaim he was apart of the house of Lions. Despite herself she was happy for him. She was in a generally happy mood, she couldn't feel an ounce of irritation. She herself was a Slytherin though.

The thought was enough to make her pause in her reading. If she was sorted into Slytherin would James still be happy with her? The prejudice was well and alive even now.

It's a thought for another time. Elena continued reading. He hadn't blown up Hogwarts, but he had set fire to a teachers hair. Sighing she set the letter down.

She was bored. She almost wanted to go back to Hogwarts, she wasn't excited to relearn everything but she was excited to see the castle. It was home. She had spent more time at Hogwarts than she had ever at her childhood home, hell she died at Hogwarts.

Elena paused midway through standing. She had died at Hogwarts hadn't she? Right in the corridor on the fifth floor. Her sister's face flashed across her eyes. She remembered the smell of her hair. Even before she died, she could smell the cherries and fire. Astoria her dearest sister. What had become of her?

She was so determined to set the memories behind her. She didn't want to be in pain anymore. She loved her family, she adored them. Yet she couldn't think of them.

Her sister wasn't born yet, she was gone she- "Ella." The gentle voice of her father pulled her away. She was still halfway from standing, an awkward position to find herself in. Her father was staring at her with a small smile. For the first time she noticed the lines around his eyes, had he always looked so old? His dark hair was growing lighter. He reached out and gently pulled her towards him. Still smiling he pushed her hair away from her face. She frowned at the gesture, she didn't want anyone touching her hair.

"You know I love you." It wasn't said as a question yet Elena nodded anyway. She wasn't sure where he was going with this. "You don't need to worry, i'll always take care of you." Her frown deepened. What did he mean?

"I know."

"Just because you're ill, it doesn't change anything. Do you understand?" She nodded once more. He was visibly struggling, his eyebrows creased. "I love you and James more than anything else in the world. Whatever happens we will deal with it together. You don't have to be anxious about the future."

The pieces clicked together. He must have read her expression, for the anxiety he picked up on. He was close to the mark, she was worried about the future. Just not the one he thought she was. Still the reassurance was nice. Her father wasn't a man of words, he preferred action. To make the effort to reach out to her touched her.

She loved him as a daughter loved her father. She hadn't known this type of affection. She had loved her past parents, she had been over that. But seeing it reinforced everyday shined a new light on her old life. She had been so unhappy. Chained to them.

Her father stood from his seat and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest Ella. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." He winked on his way out of the common area. She had no idea what he was on about. She was finding she never truly understood him half the time. That's just what she liked about him.