Hermione was sitting in her bed quietly reading while Ginny flipped through a Quidditch magazine when she heard a loud scream from down the hall. Both the witches shot up and ran towards the sound without a second thought. They could hear whimpering as they got closer to the room Ellen had claimed and quickened their pace. Hermione threw open the door and gasped.

Ellen was on the ground, her wand a few feet away from her on top of the bed. She was shaking and speaking to herself, staring down the strange man that was standing in front of her.

He had light skin and a thin mustache, and he was wearing a top hat and clothes like an old Victorian gentleman. Ellen was still staring at him, repeating the same thing. "You're not Mana. Mana is dead, you're not Mana!" She was gradually getting louder. Hermione went to step towards the girl when Ellen's bright yellow eyes snapped towards her.

"No, you have to get out of here!" She rasped out, "He's going to kill you, you have to leave!"

As she spoke the man began to morph into something grotesque. It was like he was a giant, gray parody of the man he had been. The creature had the same bright yellow eyes as Ellen and a demonic grin. "You just have to say their names, dear Allen." It cooed at her. "You can have them back. Just say their names."

Ellen backed away until she hit the foot of her bed, wand completely forgotten. Her eyes flew back to Hermione and Ginny. "What did I tell you idiots, leave!"

"Ginny, go get help!" Hermione whispered urgently, inching her way into the room. Ginny took off sprinting down the hall and Hermione heard her storming down the stairs to get to where the adults were sitting in the kitchen.

"Ellen, it's just a boggart," She tried to make her voice as soothing as possible. "You need to grab your wand and you can get rid of it."

"No, no, no!" Ellen whimpered, never taking her eyes off the boggart. "I have to kill him, he has to be stopped."

She raised her left arm, the jewel on the back of her hand beginning to glow a deep purple. "I won't let you hurt anyone again, Adam."

The creature snarled at her and lunged just as Remus burst into the room. "Riddikulus!"

The thing turnred to Remus with add eyes before it suddenly began to deflate as if it was a balloon. It flew around the room crashing into walls until he vanished the thing back into the wardrobe and rushed towards Ellen. Remus grabbed her by the arms and shook her roughly. "Ellen! It was just a boggart! It's gone, it wasn't real."

She blinked quickly and when Hermione looked over at her, her eyes were grey again. Ellen shuddered and pulled away from Remus and went to retrieve her wand.

"Thank you Remus." She said quietly. "Bloody evil house."

He nodded in return. "We can have Moody come remove it tomorrow, just don't open it again."

Ellen smiled blankly at him. "No need for that."

She walked over to the wardrobe and yanked it back open, the black blob launching out again. She reached out with her discolored arm, sparking with the same purple light. "You've been a right little git, you know that?" Ellen hissed, squeezing the thing. "And little gits need to remember where they stand on the food chain."

She squeezed harder and the purple sparks covered the boggart's form. Hermione heard a high pitch squealing noise and then the boggart was gone, black dust trailing from Ellen's clenched fist. Ellen dusted her hands off on her pants and turned back to the pair.

"Now that I've taken the rubbish out, you can leave. I won't be bothering you any more." Ellen smiled politely at them. Remus left quickly, shaking his head. Hermione hesitantly followed, stopping when she heard Ellen call her name.

"Oh, and Hermione?" She turned back to face Ellen. "You're not going to breath a word of what you just saw, understand?"

She nodded and all but ran out, Ellen's bright yellow eyes watching her every move.

Hermione shut the door to her and Ginny's room tightly, her heart pounding in her chest. She sank to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest while her heart pounded so loud that she was sure that Ginny could hear it. That creature had been absolutely terrifying and if Ellen's reaction was anything to go by, it was also beyond dangerous. What kind of person had the Order welcomed into Grimmauld Place that had fears like that?

Where on earth had Ellen even encountered something like that? Was it something that could be near them now?

She placed her head between her knees and tried her best to breath deeply. That creature had brought out such a primal fear inside of her, like she was its prey. "Hermione?" Ginny called hesitantly. "What..what was that thing?"

"I don't know." she admitted, "But we're going to find out."

Unbeknownst to the pair, Ellen was standing right outside their door listening. At Hermione's last words she sighed and reached into her boot for her wand. As she went to open the door, she heard Remus' voice behind her.

"Don't." he said firmly. "I know what you're about to do, but you can't go Obliviating everyone that learns something about the Noah."

"It isn't safe for them to know." she hissed. "They've seen Adam's face! None of us know how he chooses a host and I won't let him be able to worm his way into their minds. Those are smart, kind girls and I can't let them be ruined."

She went to open the door again and this time Remus grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away. He dragged her struggling form down the hall to her room and pulled her inside. "It's wrong, you know it is."

She pulled her wrist out of his grip and turned her face away. "Don't even try to lecture me right now Remus. You don't have that right."

"Ellen.." he murmured, stepping closer.

Ellen screwed her eyes shut and stepped away. "No. Remus, I'm not doing this."

He pulled back and looked down at her with pain in his eyes. She shook her head and grimaced. "You need to leave. Now."

Remus nodded and walked away, looking back at her once. Ellen stubbornly refused to meet his eyes, collapsing against the wall as soon as the door shut. She took deep, heaving breaths to calm herself.

The girl rubbed her hands against her eyes firmly, trying to force the tears that had refused to fall for the past two hundred years. "I knew coming back here was a mistake." she whispered to herself. "Wizards bring nothing but pain and death. I should have just stayed away."

She stayed there for what felt like hours, forcing her mind to repair the broken pieces that was Ellen Walker once more. Seeing the Earl had brought back so many memories or a time she thought that she had forgotten. Ellen tried her best to breathe deeply, trying to ground herself.

The Millennium Earl was dead.

Ellen had killed him herself. During the final battle, it had been her to shove the Sword of Exorcism into the Earl's shriveled black heart. She had felt the rage and pain of the memory of Adam as she killed him. That kind of betrayal from another Noah to the Earl himself had damaged the memory beyond repair. It would be another seven thousand years before Adam would have the strength to find a new host and by then she would be ready to kill him again. Never again would she allow him to influence the Clan as he had before.

But no matter how much she tried to convince herself that it would all be fine, there was something in the back of her mind telling her to be on guard; something telling her that she was being watched even though she knew that she wasn't. The others were an ever present tingle in the back of her mind. They were alive and out there, and she knew that he would still be looking for her no matter how long it had been.

She walked over to the writing desk she had conjured and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and ink. The tip of the quill hovered over the parchment, dripping black onto the pristine page while she just stared at it trying to work up the courage to write something. Ellen sighed and set her quill down. It wasn't going to happen. She was far too much of a coward to ever reach out.

Maybe another day.

Ellen woke harshly to the loud buzz of her wand next to her pillow. "Bloody hell.." she muttered. "Nothing important has ever happened this early, this is bloody unnecessary."

She stumbled down the hall to the bathroom that she remembered seeing, yanking the door open before shrieking. There was a house elf standing in there, snarling to itself. It had a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes, many folds of skin, and white hair growing out of his bat-like ears. All in all, it was a generally unpleasant sight.

It turned its eyes to her and sneered. "Scum...filthy Mudblood defiling the Noble House of Black...what would Mistress say..." It muttered as it walked past her. She frowned and stared after it for a moment before heading into the bathroom.

She showered quickly, making sure that her charms had held tight during the emotional night that she had gone through. Her hair was still the same red brown that she charmed it to be. It was the closest that she could get to the natural hair color she had before she was cursed so long ago. With the hair and the scar missing, she looked like she could be any other person on the street. She looked normal.

Ellen rushed down the hall in her towel praying that she would not run into any of the teens on her way, locking her door behind her once she managed to sprint into her room. She grabbed her wand and started summoning things from around her room, quickly drying herself and putting on undergarments. She stood in from of her enchanted mirror, staring at her reflection.

She ran her fingers up the scaled skin of her left arm and traced the designs it made where it met her shoulder. It had looked the same ever since the day that it reformed, a far cry from the shriveled red that used to cover it. The dark purple of dark matter twinkled in the jewel on the back of her hand, a mockery of where her Innocence had once could feel the energy pulsing through her arm at all times; it was chaotic and it almost burned her from the inside, but in an oddly comforting way. It reminded her of what she truly was.

"Oh, quit being so vain." The mirror snarked at her as she didn't move from her position in front of the mirror for a few minutes. She made a rude gesture and eyed the options she had for the day. With a deep sigh she slid on her usual uniform of a dark baggy dress and heavy boots. She quickly dried her hair with a flick of her wand and threw on an equally baggy flannel shirt, frowning at herself. The muggle grunge look had worked for her in America. It had made her look unapproachable in a way that kept her from forming any real attachments, but looking at herself now just made her feel like she was wearing a costume of someone that she wanted to be but never would.

Ellen ordered everything back into its proper place and slid her wand snuggly into her boot. She looked over at the blank piece of parchment she had set out the night before and shook her head. It still wasn't time.

She made her way into the kitchen where Molly was calmly cooking and Sirius was drinking coffee. Ellen sat down in the chair next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, snuggling closer to his warmer body. "Moony told me you ran into a boggart. You okay?" He asked quietly, a concerned look flitting across his face.

"I will be." She promised him. "It just...it took me off guard, that's all."

"That was the Earl that you saw, wasn't it?"

She barked out a laugh. "Of course it was. What else do I have to be scared of?"

He opened his mouth to reply and quickly shut it when the twins came stumbling into the kitchen rubbing the sleep from their eyes. They mumbled out a quick good morning to their mother before sitting down and laying their heads on the table.

"Ah, to be young and full of energy." She teased them gently, summoning a cup of coffee for the four of them. "Shouldn't you boys be excited? It's almost time for you to go back to school!"

A loud groan was the only response that she received. She laughed and went back to leaning against Sirius and quietly drinking her coffee. "Are you excited at least Sirius?" She spoke so softly that only he could hear her.

Sirius nodded against her again. "I wish I could have him come live here..."

"What's he like?" She asked. "Is he like them?"

"The very best of them. He looks just like James, but he has Lily's eyes." Ellen gently squeezed his arm when she heard him get choked up.

"I wish I had gotten to see him more." Her voice broke slightly. "He was such a small thing when I last saw him and now he's all grown. I feel like if I even blink then you'll all be grown and gone."

He nudged her playfully. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Who else is going to be your human pillow if I'm not around?"

"Not fair," she whined and burrowed herself deeper against his side, "You're so warm and I'm always cold."

"Brilliant witch that you are and you can't even conjure a jacket." Ellen smacked his shoulder lightly.

"Oh shush."

Moments later Hermione and Ginny walked into the kitchen looking much more awake than the twins. Ellen nodded a greeting at them, holding back a sigh at the way they almost cringed away from her. They sat on the opposite side of the table and looked down refusing to make eye contact. "Hey," Ellen called softly. "I'm sorry you had to see that, I should have checked that thing before I just opened it like that."

"What was that thing?" Hermione asked, staring straight into her eyes.

Ellen sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "He was known as the Earl of Millennium, but his name was Adam."

"I've read about him," the curly hair witch replied, "The Earl was the leader of the Noah though..."

She trailed off and stared at Ellen who just sighed again. "He was also insane. Adam would make your Dark Lord seem like an angry chihuahua. I just wish you hadn't seen his face. Obliviation would be the best option, but that's not happening right now."

Ginny looked at her with a confused expression. "Why would we need to be Obliviated? It was just a boggart, not the real thing."

"Because none of us could ever figure out how Adam chose his host. It could be that he latches on to those who have seen him. You seem like good kids and I don't want him to go after you if he manages to reincarnate sooner than we believe." Ellen explained. "The memory of Adam is the strongest among us, and it twists the host into something that isn't even human anymore. Shite, I'm lucky that I'm still sane."

Sirius squeezed her knee comfortingly but she brushed his hand away. "There's a reason there are so few of us left. The memories of Noah are strong and they start to take over if you aren't careful. Most people end up killing themselves before they've even fully awakened. Not that I blame them, it's a horrifying process if you don't know what's happening."

"Then what memory are you?" Ginny blurted out, "If you're still you, is yours weak or something?"

"Mine is something that never should have existed." She waved her hand and summoned another cup of coffee into her hands. "But that's a story for another time."

Molly scowled slightly at her. "They are children, they don't need to know these things."

"I was their age when I fought in my first war. They won't be children for much longer." Ellen pointed out.

"Still, they aren't of age yet and I won't have you filling their heads with that kind of talk."

"Okay, okay" Ellen relented, "No more talking about the scary creatures. Tell me Molly, what kind of work are you going to have us do today? I know you've got something planned."

"We've got to keep cleaning the rooms." Molly said primly. "There's a serious infestation of doxies in this place."

The Noah groaned and let her head fall onto the table. "I suppose that we're only allowed to use Scourgify?"

The glare that Molly sent her way was the only answer that she needed.

Once Ron had finally come into the kitchen and breakfast was served, they were all herded upstairs into the library armed with Doxie spray and dusters. The six of them worked in relative silence, the occasional sneeze breaking up the monotony. Molly would make her way into the room every so often, frowning at Ellen when she tried to pet the doxies.

"Not my fault they like me," she grumbled. "They're just like Teez, always following me."

She brushed one off her shoulder and sprayed it down. Ellen went to cast another Scourgify at a piece of furniture when she threw her hands in the air. "Bugger all this." She groaned, "I did not cross the ocean to scrub chairs down. What do you say we handle all this now and skive off?"

The twins grinned roguishly at her. "Why, Ellen-"

"we never knew you were such-"

"-a rule breaker!"

She smirked at them in return. "Now you go on and step back from all of that. Molly is about to come up here in a right tiff and I don't want you all to get any of the blame." Ellen winked at Hermione who realized quickly what spell she was about to use.

"Mundomius!" The dust and grime began to melt away just as it had in her room, spreading throughout the whole house. "Cretordinem!"

They all ducked down as furniture and books began flying through the air, settling themselves into their correct spots. The teens peeked out into the hallway and gaped at how clean everything was. All of the scattered objects had been neatly put away, the broken lights repaired.

Their wonder was interrupted by Molly's loud shout of "Ellen Walker!"

"Shite," Ellen cursed, "That's my cue to hide. If she asks, tell her I'm at the Ark and I'm not coming out until she's done!"

The Noah took off running and slammed her door behind her. A bright white light shone from underneath the door, illuminating the dim hallway. Seconds later Molly came up the stairs, her face red with anger.

"Where did she go?" She snapped at her children.

"Erm, she said she was going to the Ark, wherever that is." Ron mumbled, scared of his mother's wrath.

"That little-" Molly scowled and marched down to Ellen's door. "You almost took Sirius's head off with that blasted charm! I've told you not to just throw around spells that you don't understand!"

"I had it under control Molly! No one got hurt!" Ellen shouted and the light disappeared, leaving the hallway in darkness once more.

Molly huffed once and turned to march back down the stairs. "I want to see you lot working on your homework!" She ordered, storming down the stairs.

"She really knows how to get under Mum's skin." Ron groaned. Hermione rolled her eyes and dragged him down the hall, Ginny trailing behind them. The twins looked at each other and shrugged, apparating into their room to keep working on new products.

Inside the Ark, Ellen strolled through the streets kicking a rock around. It was completely empty and the sound of the rock bouncing echoed against the walls. Ellen sighed deeply. "It's not like I was trying to hurt anyone!" She argued to herself, "Just because they haven't heard the spell doesn't make it something bad."

She stared up at the large white tower and sighed again. Screwing her eyes shut, she willed the Ark to move her towards it. Ellen was standing right outside it when she opened her eyes once more. With another sigh she headed over to the small gardens next to the tower. She weaved her way through the winding paths until she ended up in a small clearing with a single large tree at the head. She walked over to the tree, crouching down to run her fingers across the two small stones that rested at the foot of the tree.

'Mana Walker, father and brother' one read. She gently stroked the second one, her throat tightening up with emotion.

'Nicholas Walker, precious son' Ellen felt a hot burning sensation behind her eyes, but the tears refused to fall. She sat down in front of the stones, fiddling with the grass beneath her.

"Hey," she started, her voice cracking. "It's been a while. I'm sorry I don't have anything for you two, I wasn't planning on coming here if I'm being honest. It's just.. there's another war that I've been dragged into and I'm not sure that I want to help. These people, they were my friends but all I see when I look at them are their deaths. I know, kind of morbid to be saying that to a grave, but you two are the only ones I can be honest with. They want me to find the others now, I'm sure it isn't just because they want me to be reunited with my family. We're weapons, that's all people see when they look at us. One Noah is strong but imagine if they had six? That nasty Voldemort wouldn't stand a chance. Molly thinks that I don't know that's the reason why she pushes me so hard to find them."

"If I'm being honest, I want to find them." She admitted to herself. "I've been alone for so long and I can feel them, all the time, just there at the edge of my mind. All I would have to do is call them here and we'd be together again."

Ellen ran her fingers through her hair. "But what if they haven't changed? I can't bring them into the Order without knowing that they aren't going to slaughter everyone in their sleep. I wish you were here Mana, you would know what to do. You always did. I always want you here though. You were supposed to be there for everything Mana. I wanted you there at my wedding, when I found out about Nicholas. I needed you there when my sweet child was lost. I needed you when I lost Crown Clown. I needed you!"

She slammed her fists down on the ground. "Why did you let him take your mind? You were so strong Mana, you could have resisted it. Were you that broken that you couldn't fight? Was I not enough of a reason for you to keep him out?"

"I feel so alone, even though I'm surrounded by people that I know care about me. I want them here, with me. Good or bad, they're the only family I have left." Ellen brushed her hand across the stones again. "I have to leave now, it's probably been hours outside of here. I'll come back soon. I love you."

With a wave of her hand, she opened a gate back into Grimmauld Place and stepped through. And promptly landed face first on the kitchen table.

"Ellen!" Molly scolded, looking up from her reading material, "Where have you been?"

"Thought it was obvious that I was in the Ark. I really need to start focusing on where I open gates, that hurt." Ellen groaned, rubbing her head. "How long was I gone?"

"Four. Hours." Molly ground out. "You can't go hide in your Ark when you don't want to talk about things!"

"Molly, as much as I love your lectures, I'm really just not in the mood right now." She sighed.

The older woman's expression softened in understanding. "You visited your father?"

Ellen nodded. "I did. Just, can we please not talk about it?"

Molly nodded and turned back to her reading with one last squeeze to Ellen's shoulder. Ellen sat there in silence, running her hand over her flat stomach. She screwed her eyes shut and excused herself, all but running up the stairs.

She stormed past Ginny and Hermione, ignoring them when they called her name. Her door slammed loudly behind her, locking with a wave of the Noah's hand. Ellen threw herself onto the bed, hugging a pillow close to her numb chest.

Her eyes must have stared at the wall for hours, the sunlight dimming and giving way to darkness as she lay there. It was as if she was in a trance that made her completely unbothered to the passage of time. She could have laid there for days and not have noticed that more than a minute had gone by.

A loud pounding on her door shook Ellen out of her state. She took a deep breath and finally opened the door. Kingsley stood before her, a concerned frown on his face.

"Something," he began, "Has come up."

CHAPTER TWO UP IN THIS AYYY

The next chapter will arrive sometime next week, and I am still looking for someone to read over them before I post so if anyone would like to just PM me :)