As Kingsley and Ellen walked down the stairs he explained the situation to her in depth. A member of the Advance Guard, Emmeline Vance, had been struck with a nasty curse leaving her home earlier that morning and was now resting in stable condition at St. Mungo's. But with her out of action, they were short a guard to safely transport Harry Potter to Grimmauld Place.
"You want me to help you get him?" Ellen asked, raising a single eyebrow.
Kingsley nodded solemnly. "You're a powerful witch, we could really use you tonight."
She grinned crookedly at him. "I'm part of the Order, aren't I? Let me grab my broom."
The Noah rushed past the other members of the Advance Guard that were waiting in the foyer. She tripped on a stair, cursing loudly when the portrait of Walburga Black began to screech at the top of it's lungs. She sent a sheepish grin at the others and hurried up the stairs and into her room. Her arm was elbow deep in her duffel bag before she felt the smooth wooden handle of her broom. Ellen yanked it out and thundered back down to where Sirius was struggling to close the curtains again.
"Alright then," she smiled, "Let's be off!"
The guard took off in front of Grimmauld Place, Ellen flying between Tonks and Moody. She shook her head wildly, enjoying the rush of the wind through her hair.
Moody made a noise of disapproval beside her. "This would be much safer if we could use your little castle." He growled over at her.
"You know the rules, Alastor. I can't open a gate in a place I've never been!" Ellen snapped back. Her old mentor frowned and looked forward. Shrugging at the attitude, she turned over to Tonks and they began an easy conversation. The seven flew high above the clouds for the next two hours, shivering but hidden from view. Soon Kingsley spotted the house that Harry Potter was staying in and they made their descent. The guard moved quickly and quietly once they were on the ground, unlocking the door with a fast Alohamora. They filed in one after the other remaining silent as they did so.
The house was dark and quiet when they spread out around the house. Moody and Remus took the upstairs while the others dispersed to different rooms downstairs. Ellen and Tonks carefully moved into the kitchen, a Lumos lit on the tips of their wands.
Ellen had turned to say something to the young witch when she heard a loud crash. She whipped around the see that Tonks had managed to knock a plate off of the counter and break it.
"Damn it Tonks!" She muttered, intending on tearing the woman a new one. She paused when she heard movement from upstairs, something light unlike Moody's footsteps.
They rapidly moved through the house and followed the others up the stairs, standing in the dark hallway where Moody and Remus were waiting. One of the doors in the hallway swung open silently as a rather thin boy moved with his wand out. The boy looked up and stilled once he laid eyes on them, lifting up his wand to defend himself.
"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out," Moody said in a low, growling voice. She glared over at him for the unnecessarily gruff tone of voice.
The boy lowered his wand and called out in a small voice. "Professor Moody?"
"I don't know so much about 'Professor,'" growled Moody, "never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you properly."
Harry lowered his wand more but did not relax his grip on it and stayed frozen in place. The boy looked like he was going to bolt any second when Remus called out to him. "It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away."
"P-Professor Lupin?" he stuttered. "Is that you?"
"Why are we all standing in the dark?" Ellen complained loudly."It's absolutely ridiculous. Lumos."
The tip of her wand flared with light once more, illuminating the hallway. Harry blinked rapidly, staring out at the crowd of people both in front of him and waiting by the foot of the stairs. A few of the guard looked as if they were straining their necks just to catch a glimpse of the boy like he looked anything different than a scrawny teenage boy.
"Oh, he looks just like I thought he would," said Tonks, the light from Ellen's wand highlighting her spiky purple hair. "Wotcher, Harry!"
"Yeah, I see what you meant, Remus," Kingsley murmured, examining the boy closely. "He looks exactly like James."
"Except the eyes," Ellen met those bright green eyes with her own silver ones. "Lily's eyes."
Moody glared suspiciously at Harry, lifting his wand up. "Are you quite sure it's him, Lupin?" he growled. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him something only the real Potter would know."
She resisted the strong urge to hit her mentor. Remus met her eye and sighed. "Harry, what form does your Patronus take?"
"A stag."
"That's him, Mad-Eye," said Remus. Moody relaxed somewhat, allowing Harry to pass him and make his way down the stairs. Ellen watched him slide his wand in the back pocket of his jeans and winced.
"Don't put your wand there, boy!" roared Moody. "What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!"
"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" Tonks eyed him, forcing Ellen to hold back a fit of giggles.
"Never you mind, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket!" growled Mad-Eye. "Elementary wand safety, nobody bothers about it anymore, using any which place to store them." His eye swiveled to Ellen, who he had scolded for keeping her wand in her shoes at least a hundred times.
Ellen followed Moody as he limped into the kitchen, giggling when he called Tonks out for rolling her eyes. She paused in the doorway, looking back to see Harry and Remus speaking quietly. Lupin held out his hand and shook Harry's and they walked over to the kitchen
"I'm, you're really lucky the Dursleys are out.." Harry mumbled as he walked in.
"Lucky, ha!" Tonks laughed, her eyes filled with glee. "It was me that lured them out of the way. Sent a letter by Muggle post telling them they'd been short-listed for the All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition. They're heading off to the prize-giving right now...Or they think they are."
Ellen watched a brief bit of amusement flit across Harry's face before he turned back to Remus. "We are leaving, aren't we?" he asked. "Soon?"
"Almost at once," Remus reassured him, "we're just waiting for the all-clear."
"Where are we going? The Burrow?" Harry's voice was so full of hope that it made her heart hurt for the boy.
"Not the Burrow, no. It's too risky. We've set up headquarters somewhere undetectable. It's taken a while, but it's ready"
Remus gestured around the room, motioning to each member of the Advance Guard. "This is Alastor Moody, Harry," He started, pointing toward Moody.
"Yeah, I know," said Harry, looking oddly uncomfortable.
"And this is Nymphadora-"
"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus," Tonks shuddered in disgust. "It's Tonks."
"-Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her surname only," finished Remus.
"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you 'Nymphadora,'" muttered Tonks. Ellen cackled loudly, ducking from the teasing glare the other witch sent her.
"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt" — he indicated the tall black wizard, who bowed — "Elphias Doge" — the wheezy-voiced wizard nodded — "Dedalus Diggle — Sturgis Podmore" — a square-jawed wizard with thick, straw-colored hair winked — "Hestia Jones." A pink-cheeked, black-haired witch waved from next to the toaster.
"And this," he said gesturing towards Ellen, "is Ellen Walker. She's your godmother." The last part was spoken quietly, intended for only Harry's ears. The boy's eyes widened and he stared at Ellen in shock. She smiled shyly and waved, unsure of what else to do.
"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," said Remus, glancing out of the kitchen window. "We've got about fifteen minutes."
"How're we getting, wherever we're going?" Harry asked quietly.
"Brooms," Remus explained. "Only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey."
"And some witches refuse to use their resources." Moody remarked, earning a warning look from Ellen.
"Remus says you're a good flier," Kingsley remarked, still watching the boy intently.
"He's excellent," Remus replied, checking his watch. "Anyway, you'd better go and get packed, Harry, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes."
"I'll come and help you," said Tonks brightly. The pair exited the room and turned up the stairs. As soon as their footsteps had faded, Ellen slumped into a chair across from Moody.
She rubbed her hands across her face and into her short hair. "He looks so small. Were Lily and James that small?"
Remus rubbed her shoulder gently. "He's had a hard life."
Exhaustion set in as she sat there, watching the other witches and wizards tinker with the Muggle technology that was in the kitchen. Fifteen minutes must have passed before Harry and Tonks came back down the stairs, an owl cage in Tonks' hand and a trunk trailing behind them. The boy had an expensive looking broomstick clutched in his hand, making Ellen's heart clinch. Harry must love the sport as much as his father had.
"Excellent," he said, looking up at the two of them. "We've got a minute of so, we should head out to the garden so we're ready. Harry, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry-"
"They won't," said Harry.
"That you're safe-"
"That'll just depress them."
"-and you'll see them next summer."
"Do I have to?"
Remus smiled in response but gave no answer. Ellen was frowning at the exchange. Were his guardians really so terrible for him to feel like they wouldn't care about his wellbeing?
"Come here, boy," said Moody gruffly, beckoning Harry toward him with his wand. "I need to Disillusion you."
"You need to what?" Harry's eyebrows shot up.
"Disillusionment Charm," Moody said, raising his wand. He started to form the charm, a small frown of concentration on his face "Lupin says you've got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won't stay on while we're flying; this'll disguise you better. Here you go-!"
"Nice one, Mad-Eye," Tonks whistled, examining Harry. Ellen had to agree, it was an excellent charm. The boy looked like he had taken on the color and texture of the background, appearing very well hidden.
"Come on," Moody growled, unlocking the back door with his wand. They all stepped outside onto the somewhat impressive green lawn.
"Clear night," grunted Moody, his magical eye scanning the heavens. "Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right, you," he barked at Harry, "we're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll be covering you from below. I'm going to be behind you. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed —"
"Is that likely?" Harry asked apprehensively, but Moody ignored him.
"— the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us and you survive, Harry, the rear guard are standing by to take over; keep flying east and they'll join you."
"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, he'll think we're not taking this seriously," Tonks remarked, strapping Harry's belongings into the harness she had hanging from her broom.
"I'm just telling the boy the plan," growled Moody. "Our job's to deliver him safely to headquarters and if we die in the attempt —"
"No one's going to die," Kingsley reassured the boy at the frightened look on his face.
"Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" Remus called, pointing towards the shower of red sparks that flared. They all swung a leg over their brooms and gripped the handles tightly. Harry looked excited just to be on a broom.
"Second signal, let's go!" said Remus loudly, as more sparks, green this time, exploded high above them.
They kicked off hard from the ground, soaring into the cool night air. Ellen tossed her head again, still enjoying the sensation of flying. From the looks of it, Harry was just as happy as she was to be in the air. She drifted beneath him, glancing all around for other witches or wizards.
"Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!" shouted Moody from above. They all swerved sharply, Ellen wincing at the way Harry's belongings swung in the air. "We need more height. Give it another quarter of a mile!"
Their eyes were starting to water from the cold, their cheeks bright pink in the wind. It had only grown colder in the time that it had taken to get Harry and Ellen felt like her hands might get stuck to her broomstick if they had to fly for too much longer.
"Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!" called Moody.
"We're not going through clouds, you bloody nutter!" Ellen screeched at him. "We'll freeze to our brooms!"
They altered their course every now and then according to Moody's instructions. It was quiet, only the sound of the wind whistling filling their ears. They flew for what must have been over an hour in complete silence.
As they got closer to their destination, the guard began to swoop around more, shifting who was next to Harry at all times. Each one had their wands out and were watching for anyone who might be laying in wait.
"We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!" Moody shouted.
"ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE?" Tonks screamed from the front. "If we keep going off course we're not going to get there until next week! We're nearly there now!"
"Time to start the descent!" Remus shouted above the wind. They fell into a dive, heading straight for the city. The lights were growing nearer until they could start to see individual headlights and streetlights.
"Here we go!" called Tonks, and a few seconds later they had landed in a patch of grass in a small square.
"Where are we?" Harry asked Remus, getting a quick, "In a minute."
Ellen could see Moody fumbling in his pockets for Albus's Put-Outer. He finally found it and clicked it in the air with confidence. The nearest streetlamp went out with a pop; he clicked it again and the next lamp went out. He kept on with his clicking until the only lights that shone were those inside houses.
"Borrowed it from Dumbledore." Moody grunted at Harry as an explanation. He took the boy by the arm and led him from the patch of grass, across the road, and onto the pavement. Remus and Tonks followed, carrying Harry's trunk between them, the rest of the guard, all with their wands out, flanking them.
The muffled pounding of a stereo was coming from an upper window in the nearest house. A pungent smell of rotting rubbish came from the pile of bulging bin-bags just inside the broken gate and they could even hear a young girl singing to herself from within a house.
"Here," Moody muttered, thrusting a familiar piece of parchment toward Harry's Disillusioned hand and holding his lit wand close to it, so as to illuminate the writing.
"Read quickly and memorize."
She watched Harry read it and look up in amazement as Grimmauld Place revealed itself to him. The boy gaped and she could hear him begin to say something when Moody hurried him up to the door saying whatever it was could wait until they were safe.
Remus knocked on the door and ushered them all in once it was open, Kingsley lingering outside to return the lights from the Put-Outer. She squinted in the dark and groped around the find the way to turn the gas lamps on. Remus reached over her head and turned the knob with a click, illuminating the place in dull light.
Harry looked somewhat skeptical as he observed the place and she couldn't resist teasing him. "You should have seen it before they let me have a crack at it. Cobwebs. Everywhere."
He looked blankly at her before cracking a hesitant smile. There was the sound of hurried footsteps as Molly rushed into the room, embracing the boy like he was one of her own. She squeezed him tightly, murmuring something about getting him fed as soon as possible.
She turned to the others and whispered urgently. "Meeting's about to start, he's just arrived."
Ellen's eyes widened and she stared at Molly in disbelief. There was no way that that man was still involved with the Order. The others rushed to the back of the house towards the kitchen, only Ellen and Remus hesitating. After a second they went to follow, Harry right behind them.
She heard Molly hold Harry back and explain that he couldn't sit in on the meeting but she would show him to his room. The sound of their footsteps going up the stairs filled her ears, getting fainted as they walked away.
The kitchen was loud and full of Order members. They had all filled in the various seats of the table and were chatting with each other. Ellen quickly grabbed the seat next to Sirius, glaring at the darkly dressed wizard at the other end of the table.
Severus Snape was not someone that was welcome, in Ellen's opinion. He had joined the Order as a spy shortly after Lily and James had been killed. Something about him never sat right with her, and she had always suspected he wasn't as loyal to the Order as he should be.
Said man sneered at her when their eyes met. "I see Dumbledore's favorite..pet has shown her face." He drawled out.
Ellen scowled and went to pull her wand from her boot to curse him when Albus arrived, a hush falling over the room. He sat himself at the head of the table and began to speak.
"I am glad to see that young Mr. Potter is here safe and sound." His blue eyes twinkled. As the man continued to inform them of the recent happenings concerning Potter's trial and the activity of Voldemort, Ellen's sharp hearing picked up the sound of yelling from upstairs.
She frowned and focused, trying her best to understand what was being said. It sounded like Harry's voice and he was certainly angry about something. Just as she was beginning to comprehend the conversation, it stopped in a dead halt.
Ellen jerked back to reality, doing her best to focus in the meeting. It seemed they had been discussing everyone's individual tasks and Albus was staring at her expectantly.
"Er, sorry," she muttered. "I missed that."
"Quite alright Ellen," Albus smiled gently at her. "We were simply wondering if you would be up to a more hands-on type of assignment."
She grinned wolfishly, leaning forward. "I'd love to. It's been a while since I got to take on some Death Eaters."
Albus shook his head. "I was thinking more along the lines of protection. You see, as safe as Hogwarts is, Voldemort was still able to have Harry Potter kidnapped last year. We as professors and educators can only keep an eye on Harry when he is around us and it saddens me to say that he does not fully trust us. However," His damn eye twinkled again. "You are physically the same age as he is. Someone like you could attend Hogwarts and get close to Harry. You could be someone he can trust."
"You want me to go to school?" said Ellen, her eyes wide. "No. No, no, no, no, no! Albus, I can't just walk into your school and start going to classes. The Ministry doesn't even recognize me as a Being!"
He pulled out a bright blue pamphlet, images flitting across the cover. "That is why you, Ellen Walker, are the first recipient of the Creature Outreach Program scholarship. You'll find that it is perfectly legal for you to be a Hogwarts student."
She snatched the pamphlet and read it through quickly. It was a load of hogwash. The booklet claimed that the purpose was to integrate Beasts that were on the edge of Being status into wizarding society. C.O.P. would pay in full all for all supplies and tuition needed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It would go to any qualified Beast of school age, no matter how late they started. Ellen felt her eye wanting to twitch at being referred to as a Beast. She gently set the pamphlet down and looked at Albus.
"What did it take for you to pull this off?" She leaned back in her chair. "The Ministry has never cared about anyone but wizards and now you want me to believe that they've changed their minds all on their own?"
"It took some of the last few favors I had within the Wizengamot." He admitted. "But it was for the greater good of Mr. Potter."
The Noah grit her teeth and glared before finally relenting. "Fine. I'll go to your school and I'll keep an eye on Harry. But make no mistakes, I'm only doing this to honor James and Lily, not because you asked me to."
The whole table was in silent shock at the way she spoke to Dumbledore. Even in the first war, she had always been the first to defend Dumbledore's decisions and argued that he knew what was best. And now here she was, all but spitting venom at the old wizard.
Albus leaned back, looking much older than he was. The meeting continued smoothly after that, adjourning within fifteen minutes. Ellen remained stubbornly at the table, ignoring Arthur and Bill's quiet conversation and Mundungus's obnoxious snoring. Albus touched her shoulder gently as he went to leave, but she just shook his hand off.
"I'm not a Beast, Albus." she murmured quietly. "I thought you of all people would acknowledge that."
The elderly wizard let out a small sigh, so small that she barely heard it, before continuing out of the meeting. Ellen sat there for a few minutes, lost in her thoughts until a loud screeching startled her.
"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place How dare you befoul the house of my fathers—"
She rolled her eyes and stormed out of the kitchen, wand ready to blast the damn painting off the wall. Remus and Molly were desperately trying to pull the curtains in front of it shut but they weren't budging.
Walburga Black's painted face turned red and her eyes bulged when she laid eyes on Ellen. "Disgusting, nasty little beast! Defiling the home of true wizards, leave!"
Ellen gripped her wand and snarled. "I should destroy the very wall you sit on, you miserable old bint!"
The portrait screeched again and Sirius came running out, yelling back at the thing. With a great amount of effort he, Ellen and Remus were finally able to tug the curtains closed and the screaming faded away.
Sirius turned to Harry with a grim smile. "Hello Harry. I see you've met my mother."
Thank you so much for reading!